Over the past few months there has been a lot of rhetoric by (the former) B.C. United Party and the B.C. Conservative Party on scrapping the carbon tax. Of course, this is low hanging fruit and makes for easy political messaging. They conveniently ignore the fact that around 65 per cent B.C. citizens benefit from the climate action tax credit and many citizens actually come out ahead. B.C.'s carbon tax puts a price on pollution and I think most people believe this is a good idea.
There is, however, another carbon tax that you may not be aware you are already paying and will continue to pay until, globally and locally, we reverse the effects of climate change. If we fail to act in a meaningful way, as we have done so far, this hidden carbon tax will continue to rise. I am talking about the rebuilding costs associated with extreme weather events and battling ever-increasing wildfires.
I am also talking about adaption and mitigation costs that are creeping into all levels of government budgets at an increasing rate. Less tangible, is the emotional cost on communities that are heavily affected by climate change events. The carbon tax I am referring to is enormous, unpredictable and growing annually. When a major climate change event occurs, it has to be dealt with immediately and cannot be deferred to some future date.
In 2021, B..C was hit with a crushing heat dome that took temperatures over 40°C and claimed the lives of 619 people, massive wildfires that burnt the town of Lytton to the ground, and devastating floods throughout the south-west corner of the province. The B.C. auditor general reported that $5-billion was spent on the recovery and response efforts dealing with the destructive wildfires, landslides and flooding. Costs have been climbing annually. In 2013, the B.C. government reported $122 million was spent on fighting wildfires. By 2023, the cost had climbed to more than $1 billion. This pattern repeats itself with flooding, droughts. and heat waves.
The important thing to remember with all these expenditures is that we are not getting any new infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, transit etc. In most cases we are just replacing what was destroyed by the extreme climate event.
Of course, government expenditures don't end with fighting wildfires or replacing infrastructure. The government now finds itself also having to cover the cost of mitigation and adaptation and this can get very expensive. Here we are talking about measures such as raising dikes, clearing forest debris around towns, relocation efforts and providing air conditioners for vulnerable individuals. We can expect these costs to continue to climb.
This hidden carbon tax did not exist twenty-to-thirty years ago, but now it is a major line item in every government's budget and it will remain there until we effectively deal with climate change. As this tax bites deeper and deeper into government budgets we will likely see strain on the services the government provides. It will become increasingly difficult to balance the cost of services versus the cost of dealing with climate change related events.
My commentary has largely dealt with the costs incurred by the B.C. government due to extreme weather-related events. It doesn't stop there. The federal government, businesses, and uninsured residents also suffer heavy losses. In 2021, it is estimated the total cost to all parties ranged from $10.6 - $17.1 billion.
The hidden carbon tax I have been referring to will not magically go away unless, globally and locally, we rapidly transition off fossil fuels and move quickly towards renewable and sustainable energy sources. The B.C. NDP and the B.C. Conservative Party do not understand this. They continue to go all-in on oil and gas expansion in B.C. and are therefore participating in locking in the hidden carbon tax. The B.C. Greens are the only party that understands the devastating cost of climate change and what needs to be done to reverse it. I encourage you to vote for your local B.C. Green candidate so we can begin the process of limiting and reversing the hidden carbon tax.
Pat McCutcheon lives in Cloverdale and is the B.C. Green Party candidate for the riding of Surrey-Cloverdale.
