VICTORIA - It won't actually be printed on green paper but the budget B.C. Finance Minister Carole Taylor tables Tuesday might as well be.
The green hue to the budget will reflect the Liberal government's plan to fight climate change, unveiled last year in a throne speech that warned climate change is "threatening life on Earth as we know it,'' she told The Canadian Press in an interview.
"Certainly, the theme for this budget, budget 2008, will be climate change,'' said Taylor. "We've made it quite clear that the throne speech last year laid out an agenda of work for us and the culmination of some of that work will be seen in the budget.''
The Liberals introduced legislation last fall committing the province to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by thirty-three per cent by 2020, but the law didn't say how British Columbia would hit the targets.
The climate clean-up work was left to a government-appointed 22-member Climate Action Team of environmental experts who have until August to develop a plan.
Premier Gordon Campbell said earlier the government's climate change agenda is complex and requires time for it to fully evolve, but much of it will be laid out by the end of February.
Budgets are usually measured in traditional financial colours of red and black. Red for deficit, black for surplus, but, without revealing details, Taylor said British Columbians should expect this budget to paint the province green.
"This is a very important budget for us as a province and I would hope that people will actually take the time to read some of the material that we send around afterwards because a speech can never give you much more than the highlights,'' she said.
"We are an activist government and whether it's health care or whether it's climate change, we are planning to be very aggressive in trying to reach our priorities,'' said Taylor.
Taxes will play a role in the government's climate change plans, but she wasn't providing details other than confirming that taxes are part of the green plan. But Taylor also suggested the budget contains incentives to go green.
"I can't discuss any of the tax measures that we'll be bringing Tuesday or won't be bringing Tuesday,'' she said. "I would say you can expect that the tax measures cover just about all of our priorities in one way or the other, but certainly we have looked at green incentives as well.''
Last week's throne speech placed a strong emphasis on taking personal actions to fight global warming.
"All British Columbians will be asked to do their part in meeting British Columbia's legislated greenhouse gas reduction targets and in conserving energy,'' said the throne speech.
It included saving energy on power bills, fast-tracking green housing developments and planting more trees in urban environments and ensuring every tree cut in the forests is replaced with a new seedling.
Taylor said there will be incentives in the budget to help people and businesses reach the province's environmental targets.
"I would say that we have looked at incentives for individuals as well as for businesses and for our province as a whole,'' she said.
Environmental groups, who have been largely supportive of the government's plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, say they are looking for hard evidence in the budget that the Liberals are serious about fighting climate change.
"Our main measuring stick for this budget is whether or not there's going to be an effective carbon tax in there,'' said Matt Horne, a B.C. spokesman for the Pembina Institute, a national organization that focuses on climate-energy issues.
He said there are several ways the government can move when it comes to introducing a carbon tax in the budget
The first would be a carbon tax that cuts right across the economy, targeting all sectors and all fuel types, said Horne. The second option is a moderate carbon tax across the economy, but with a clear signal the tax will increase over time, he said.
The third would an initiative that has the government saying it will invest money from its carbon tax into initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Horne said.
If the government decides to raise the provincial fuel tax and call it a carbon tax, it would have to do a lot of explaining to environmental groups, Horne said.
British Columbians already pay a fuel tax of 3.5 cents per litre to fund transportation projects.
"That, to me, could be construed as a very narrowly-scoped carbon tax and we'd have to see the details,'' Horne said. "Just focusing on gasoline sends some mixed signals to consumers and to industry in terms of some fuels are penalized and some fuels aren't. We would prefer to see one (carbon tax) that cuts across the economy.''
Horne echoed Campbell's earlier comments, saying environmental groups are still willing to give the government time to play out its plans, but they want to see hard evidence Tuesday the Liberals are serious about tackling climate change.
"The key economic pieces we'd want to see laid out in the budget and whether there's the carbon tax and key strategic investments,'' he said.
Business groups have told the government they are concerned about British Columbia entering into patchwork environmental agreements with other jurisdictions that could hurt products on the export market.
The high Canadian dollar and falling markets in the United States have B.C. businesses concerned about their ability to compete, and a carbon tax or cap on emissions could cut into their bottom line.
But last week's throne speech sent strong signals that changes are coming.
"Taking refuge in the status quo because others refuse to change is not an answer. It's avoiding responsibility and being generationally selfish,'' said the speech.
British Columbia is part of negotiations to develop a carbon trading and emissions capping plan with Manitoba and six western U.S. states, including California.
The Opposition New Democrats said the Liberals have made a practice of introducing major themes in previous throne speeches and budgets, but their record on following through is not as stellar.
"This year it's supposed to be a green budget and we'll see whether the Minister of Finance delivers on some of the grander promises that the premier has set out in his throne speech,'' said NDP finance critic Bruce Ralston.
He said the New Democrats expect the government to raise taxes on gasoline and call it their carbon tax.
"It's far from what those who advocate for a carbon tax are looking for,'' Ralston said. "It would fall largely on those people who don't have choices. They'll be paying more to drive, paying more to heat their houses.''
