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IN BRITISH COLUMBIA – CLIMATE CHANGE CLOSE TO HOME ON ELECTION DAY.

On election day in the province of British Columbia, a major rainstorm lashed the south coast sending rainfall records tumbling. The disconnect in politics was also demonstrated that day when almost 1 million residents voted for a party that denies the reality of climate change.

Allan Maynard, MSc. – November 1st, 2024

The atmospheric river weather system that lashed British Columbia’s coast on the day of the provincial election (October 19, 2024) sent daily rainfall records tumbling in North Vancouver, Victoria, Squamish, Vancouver, West Vancouver, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope, Nakusp and the Agassiz and Pitt Meadows areas. For example, West Vancouver saw 134.6 millimetres of rain, smashing the record of 34.8 millimetres set in 1970. In North Vancouver – where I live the storm dumped an astounding 344 mm of rain – more than double than from the November 2021 storm that washed out the 3 major access highways to Metro Vancouver.

It is worthwhile to watch to this video clip. This is climate change right at our doors — in this case on Panorama Drive in Deep Cove where many friends live.

YES – WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD MAJOR CLIMATE EVENTS – BUT THIS IS DIFFERENT.

It is well understood that individual climate events (wildfires, floods, droughts, windstorms) cannot be specifically labelled “caused by climate change”. This reality (i.e. – “we have always had storms”) is a well-used push back from those denying the destructiveness of climate change. While it is a fact that regions of the world have always experienced extreme events, it is different now. The events are made worse by climate change.

  • Hurricanes over increasingly warmer oceans, are becoming more intense, causing greater rainfall and have a greater coastal flood risk due to higher storm surge caused by rising seas.
  • Forest fires are increasing in intensity, frequency, and size. Moreover, the fires are occurring at higher altitudes and in more northerly regions – even Siberia – thus threatening carbon rich tundra.
  • Heat domes are more frequent, lasting longer and causing more fatalities.
  • Rain events – such as we just experienced in North Vancouver are much more extreme and often hitting land that has been dried out from droughts and thus unable to absorb the extra water.

Yes – there have been major events, but we have never seen entire towns and communities such as Jasper, Fort McMurry, Lytton, Yellowknife, Lahaina, etc., burning to the ground and/or requiring complete evacuation. In 2023 – in Canada – 250,000 people were on the move due to fires. In 2022, one-third of Pakistan, a breadbasket nation, was flooded. Hurricane Helene laid waste to 6 states in southeastern United States. Its sheer wind force and deadly floods left behind a path of destruction stretching over 500 miles from Florida to the Southern Appalachians, super-charged by ocean water that was much warmer than normal.

So – to repeat, the world has always experienced major events, but climate change is making them much more devastating. The science is clear on this.

 

AND YET – THE DISCONNECT IN POLITICS (BC AND ALBERTA EXAMPLES).

BC – The disconnect in politics was best summed up by the BC Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau after the BC election. “It’s a strange time in politics when during an atmospheric river, people come out and vote for a party that’s denying the reality of climate change.”

In this short sentence that says so much, she is talking about the BC Conservative Party who collected almost 1 million votes in a surprise outcome. This is a party that campaigned on backtracking on almost all aspects of environmental policy even, strangely enough, going as far as a plan to reverse the ban on single use plastics. Their claim that environmental policy is a burden to the BC economy flies in the face of facts. Environmental policy is not a moral judgment that ignores economic imperatives. Indeed, BC is the only province in Canada other than Ontario, with a triple-A credit rating from Moody’s. The province is the third least indebted and holds some of the highest average wages in the country. Why then – the need to backtrack?

Alberta — In August 2023, the governing United Conservative Party, instituted a 7-month moratorium on the approval of renewable energy projects, leaving a legacy of dozens of cancelled projects, legal uncertainty and a flight of strategic capital. The capacity of the cancelled projects adds up to more than 8,600 megawatts of generation — more than enough to power every home in Alberta according to a report by the Pembina Institute.

Elections matter – that is clear. It is well understood that each party running in our recent election and in other elections around the world have policy objectives to address many serious issues such as health care, cost of living, housing, drug addiction, homelessness, overall security, crime rates, education and more.

We clearly must have rationale dialogue with a variety of viewpoints, in tackling these highly complex, nuanced issues. But why the disconnect in addressing needed action on climate change and ecological destruction? Why do conservative parties around the world, continue to hide behind the defense of ignorance on this crucial threat?  This is what we voters need to be asking.  I outlined this in more detail in my October article “Vote With Knowledge – There is no Planet B” – link below – that also has references used for this article.

Vote With Knowledge – There Is No Planet B

NOTE – for those not in BC – the final outcome (pending 2 recounts) – The New Democratic Party (NDP) have a majority (47 seats), The Conservatives are the official opposition (with 44 seats) and the Green Party has 2 seats – coming very close to holding the balance of power. The Green Party is more likely to vote in favour of NDP policy as opposed to Conservative policy.  As another aside – the voter turnout was 57 %. That to me is shockingly low.