VICTORIA — Evan Pivnick, Clean Energy Program Manager for Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to B.C.’s publication of the 2024 Climate Change Accountability Report and the 2024 Zero-Emission Vehicle Update.
“B.C.’s shift to clean energy isn’t a luxury that can be set aside. It is an economic imperative directly tied to the future prosperity of our province.
“Of Canada’s 10 largest non-U.S. trade partners, all have net-zero commitments and carbon pricing systems, and roughly half apply carbon border adjustments on imports and have domestic EV requirements reshaping their car markets. The world is rapidly changing and so must the province’s approach to climate action in order to keep up.
“Recent polling commissioned by Clean Energy Canada shows that the average B.C. voter across the political spectrum supports climate-aligned objectives, such as doubling renewable energy and expanding household electrification. To this end, it is essential that the B.C. government move quickly to appoint independent experts and launch the review of CleanBC promised in its agreement with the BC Greens as quickly as possible.
“The review is also a way to make the most of the pause announced today on B.C.’s EV rebate, helping identify opportunities to redesign the program to ensure more families benefit from incentives. EV sales in B.C., once the highest in Canada, have flatlined because the current design excludes the province’s most willing adopters: many young, working British Columbians—a group that could most benefit from the considerable fuel savings EVs provide.
“While B.C. has only announced a pause to its EV rebate program at this time, we must not walk away from a technology that offers a very real, permanent affordability solution for many B.C. families. Other jurisdictions are rightly stepping up with new programs. California has pledged to restart its EV rebate program if the U.S. federal tax credit is eliminated, and Quebec recently relaunched its own incentive program.
“When CleanBC was first launched in 2018, it put B.C. on the map as a climate leader. Now in 2025, we need an equally ambitious approach that builds on the progress we have seen—but that also does more to leverage climate action as a tool to help British Columbians address the issues they face today, from the cost of living, to securing new investments, to building greater energy security for our province.”
