Press release
November 16, 2020
Greens call on government to implement Climate Change Action Plan
FREDERICTON – After four years of inaction across two governments, New Brunswick’s Green Party leader David Coon is calling the Higgs government to finally implement key commitments in the Climate Action Plan.
“Following the Paris Climate Summit, former Environment Minister Serge Rousselle led the development of a climate action plan that, if fully implemented, would ensure New Brunswick did its share to help Canada achieve the Paris commitments,” said Coon. “The five years that have unfolded since Paris have been squandered by the past two governments, so it is incumbent on Premier Blaine Higgs to act immediately.”
Coon and his caucus colleagues Megan Mitton, MLA for Memramcook-Tantramar, and Kevin Arseneau, MLA for Kent North, say Premier Higgs should implement those commitments in the Climate Action Plan that will bear the greatest impacts.
“The New Brunswick government must finally show they are serious about meeting our legislated emissions targets for 2030 and 2050,” said Megan Mitton, Green Environment and Climate Change critic. “The Premier must prioritize the most impactful commitments found in the Climate Action Plan and implement them immediately. As the climate crisis unfolds, government taking slow, incremental action is simply unacceptable.”
According to the Green caucus, the Premier should implement the plan’s commitments to:
- Ensure government operations, facilities and vehicles are carbon neutral by 2030.
- Support municipal governments to adopt electric vehicles, improve public transportation, and establish active transportation infrastructure.
- Aggressively target reduced energy demand from homes and small businesses, with the help of zero interest loans and technical advice.
- Expand the use of renewable sources of energy to provide heat, power and fuel.
- Adopt land-use requirements to ensure low carbon development, and to safeguard wetlands, floodplains, and forested areas to protect communities from flooding and severe weather events.
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