As the first session of 43rd parliament begins this week, conservationists demand urgency and accountability on efforts to protect biodiversity and fight climate change

VICTORIA / UNCEDED lək̓ʷəŋən TERRITORY — The Wilderness Committee is sounding the alarm over evidence of the B.C. government weakening its commitment to protect ecosystems and fight climate change as the province heads into this year’s first session of the legislature.

“The last government talked a lot about protecting irreplaceable old-growth forests. This new one seems more interested in continuing to cut them down,” said Forest Campaigner Tobyn Neame. “The BC NDP is out to lunch if it thinks we can ensure a sustainable forest sector while still allowing clearcutting in irreplaceable old-growth forests.”

Last month, the government published cabinet minister mandate letters, which the Wilderness Committee slammed for glossing over and even omitting promised measures to protect ecosystems, focusing instead on resource extraction, weakened environmental reviews and industry deregulation. Yesterday’s Throne Speech mentioned climate change only in passing, while repeating plans to fast-track fracking and mining projects, and not mentioning biodiversity, ecosystems or conservation at all.

“Mandate letters lay out a government’s true priorities. Right now, biodiversity and species protection are barely an afterthought. Watering down environmental commitments in these letters means watering down accountability to the public,” said Conservation and Policy Campaigner Lucero Gonzalez. “B.C. residents deserve a government that treats biodiversity loss as the crisis it is — not one that ignores species in favour of industry demands.”

The threat of U.S. trade tariffs has dominated the news and government communications in recent weeks. A large part of the BC NDP government’s response to challenges posed by potential tariffs has been a commitment to scrap or weaken environmental reviews, while doubling down on some of the most polluting projects, such as LNG Canada Phase 2.

“Premier Eby talks tough on right-wing threats and U.S. tariffs, yet with fast-tracking resource extraction and weakening environmental standards, he’s reading from the same script,” said Climate Campaigner Isabel Siu-Zmuidzinas. “Whether it's the left or the right ignoring the climate crisis, the reality hasn’t changed: we need swift climate action and an end to fossil fuel expansion now.”

The Wilderness Committee has championed environmental protection for 45 years and recently welcomed B.C. government commitments on conservation. The landmark Old Growth Strategic Review in 2020, the billion-dollar Tripartite Agreement on Nature Conservation (a commitment to protect 30 per cent of lands and waters in B.C. by 2030 — or 30x30) and the draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework in 2023 were celebrated, but have since barely been mentioned by the province.

“Critical habitat for a struggling salmon run, a disappearing grizzly bear population, a declining mountain caribou herd or the last spotted owl is more precious than any so-called critical mineral,” said Protected Areas Campaigner Joe Foy. “Yet the only mention of Premier Eby’s earlier 30x30 promise now includes the caveat that conservation has to work around mining proposals — it’s a recipe for a whole new slew of extinctions.”

The organization is calling on the B.C. government to shift gears and recognize that building a truly affordable and resilient economy means prioritizing sustainability and ecological limits.

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For more information, please contact:

Tobyn Neame | Forest Campaigner
403-461-5151, tobyn@wildernesscommittee.org

Lucero Gonzalez | Conservation and Policy Campaigner
604-700-3280, lucero@wildernesscommittee.org

Isabel Siu-Zmuidzinas | Climate Campaigner
781-572-2795, isabel@wildernesscommittee.org

Joe Foy | Protected Areas Campaigner
604-880-2580, joe@wildernesscommittee.org