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2 2030 Target: Setting a new legislated 2030 target to reduce carbon pollution by 40 per cent below 2007 levels, which would put B.C. on track to meet its 2050 target. Other Recommendations: Other recommendations would increase energy efficiency requirements in the province’s building code, support the transition to electric vehicles, promote the shift to 100 per cent clean electricity, reduce methane leakage in the gas sector, and support municipal and indigenous governments to undertake projects to cut carbon pollution. 2020 target: Even if B.C. adopts the leadership team’s recommendations immediately, the province has not taken the action required to date to meet its 2020 climate target. This is true with or without LNG. LNG: If some LNG development went ahead, the 2050 target (as well as a new 2030 target) could still be met if the climate policies recommended by the Climate Leadership Team are implemented. CRITERIA FOR “CLIMATE LEADERSHIP” The government has not indicated whether it will adopt all, or even some, of the Climate Leadership Team’s recommendations. Thus, as the deadline approaches for the release of B.C.’s next climate plan, we have identified three criteria by which the government’s plan should be evaluated. Leadership is measured by action and results. For B.C. to qualify as a climate leader, the province’s 2016 climate plan must: 1. Stop the growth in carbon pollution and put B.C. on a credible pathway to meet its legislated 2050 climate target. 2. Create jobs and economic prosperity across the province and throughout the economy, while ensuring energy remains affordable for all British Columbians. 3. Put the carbon tax back on a predictable schedule to increase gradually over time, to a rate that will create the incentives (and generate the revenue) needed for businesses and households to choose cleaner and more efficient energy. BENEFITS OF CLIMATE LEADERSHIP If implemented as a package, the Climate Leadership Team’s recommendations are designed to ensure British Columbians prosper as a result of climate leadership. Specific benefits are outlined in the sections below. JOB CREATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH B.C.’s carbon tax and other climate policies help attract businesses and workers in the “clean economy”—which includes green buildings, clean energy, professional services, waste management, and more, and contributed $6.3 billion to B.C.’s GDP in 2014. This sector currently employs more than 68,000 people in British Columbia, and employment has grown by 12.5 per cent since 2010.3