Sunday, February 8, 2009

Which party is greener, the BC Liberals or the BC NDP?

The simple reality is that the current Liberal government in Victoria is the greenest government we have seen in BC history. The next best is the Mike Harcourt era of the NDP.

What the Liberals have in their favour:
  • Promotion of the development of the greenest power in North America.
  • First Carbon Tax in BC
  • Biggest investment in transit in BC history
  • Making climate change a government priority

What the Liberals have against them:
  • An image of being opposed to best environmental practices
  • Building more roads - but then every government will do this
The simply reality is that the Liberals may have looked like a party that would not be strong on the environment, but they have a proven track record of being ahead of the curve on environmental issues. People on the left and with the environmental movement may hate Gordon Campbell, but there has never been a premier that has done more for the environment. This is as good as it has ever been.

What the NDP has in their favour:
  • Strong environmental rhetoric but without detail
What the NDP has against them:
  • Opposition to carbon taxes
  • Opposition to green power production
  • Lack of any real plans or ideas to do with the environment
  • Ignoring climate change
There is nothing that would convince me that the NDP will actually take any sort of leaderhship on environmental issues. The certainly are not making it the cornerstone of their election platform.

The NDP waffles about the Port Mann, about transit investments, about bio fuels and just about anything. The clearest stance they have taken on the environment is to oppose the carbon tax - the one thing climate scientists are saying governments need to do.


If you disagree, please post your thoughts in the comments. I am interested in a serious debate on this.

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