BC School Boards Forced to Waste $4.4 million on Carbon Credits

Taxpayers.com Aug 17, 2011 Jordan Bateman
No more teachers, no more books--no more greenies’ dirty looks?  British Columbia’s School Districts have been forced to pay the Pacific Carbon Trust more than $4.4 million in carbon credits, according to this recent Vancouver Sun op/ed by Geoff Johnson, a retired Superintendent of Schools. That’s $4.4 million of your hard-earned tax dollars siphoned out of the classroom and into the pockets of the PCT, a fully-owned BC Government Crown Corporation. The PCT then spends those tax dollars on projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by small, struggling companies like Encana, Interfor, Intrawest, Canfor, the Whistler Pan Pacific Mountainside, and the Whistler Westin. Huh?  According to PCT’s own numbers, 776,026 of the 783,816 tonnes of carbon dioxide credits came from government agencies—your tax dollars. That’s 99% of the total work done (Note: only two private individuals bought credits, for a grand total of 11 credits). At the going rate of $25 a tonne, government agencies contribute $19.4 million to the PCT. And more will come next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and on and on. I’d complain to the BC Auditor General, but then that office would need to buy more carbon offsets to deal with the carbon dioxide generated by my complaint. Here’s a way to save taxpayers some money: dissolve the PCT, release government agencies from BC’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act, and return that $19.4 million to the pockets of BC taxpayers.
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Don Quixote Note: Starting in 2012 the Municipalities who voluntarily agreed  will also have to buy Carbon credits from the PCT (I assume) to cover their carbon footprint shortfall.
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 http://www.pacificcarbontrust.com/FAQs/tabid/61/Default.aspx

Does the requirement of carbon neutrality apply to local governments as well as provincial public sector organizations?

No. Municipal and regional district operations (such as landfills) are not included in the definition of public sector organizations (i.e. Ministries, school districts, health authorities, post-secondary institutions, and crown corporations) under the regulations.

More than 100 municipalities across BC have made a voluntary commitment to have carbon neutral operations by 2012 in the Climate Action Charter signed on September 26, 2007. Pacific Carbon Trust can play an important role in helping municipalities reach their carbon reduction goals.

BC municipalities who have signed the Climate Action Charter have committed to go carbon neutral in 2012 - are they going to meet that target?

One community has made it already. Harrison Hot Springs became the first BC municipality to go carbon neutral earlier this month (June) by offsetting 2010 emissions from its operations.

The 179 local governments that have signed the charter have VOLUNTARILY made the commitment. In recognition of and to support their efforts, they receive annual Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program grants that fully reimburse their carbon taxes.
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B.C. pulls back on carbon neutrality goal Municipalities get an extension to 2012 deadline while offsets negotiated (excerpt below)

The only municipality so far to achieve carbon neutrality is Harrison Hot Springs.
North Vancouver district emitted nearly 4,800 tonnes of greenhouse gases during the last available audit for 2008. The municipality has a plan to reduce that to 4,300 tonnes by 2012, and to 3,800 tonnes by 2015 - mostly through building retrofits and more efficient vehicles. If the district had to purchase 4,300 tonnes worth of carbon offsets in 2012, that could cost up to $100,000 depending on the provider, said Bennett.