| Great68 | 11-19-2025 12:41 PM |
BC Scraps 2035 Zero Emissions Targets
Suprised that we haven't been talking about this one here yet. I'm not surprised by the rollback, absolutely no one with a brain thought this would be achievable in the timeframe that the province set. Quote:
Six years ago, B.C. became the first jurisdiction in the world to legislate zero-emission vehicle sales targets.
Two years ago, it accelerated those targets, mandating that 100 per cent of new, light-duty vehicles sold had to be zero-emission by 2035.
On Tuesday, the province acknowledged it is nowhere close to meeting that goal.
Energy Minister Adrian Dix told reporters he will be introducing legislation next spring to modify those targets and bring them in line with the reality that electric vehicle sales are falling across North America, including in B.C.
“People will know that those current targets, which are at 90 per cent by 2030, and 100 per cent by 2035, are no longer realistic,” he said, blaming the federal government’s ending of its rebate program and the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump for declining EV sales.
Asked what the new targets will be, Dix said he and his team are awaiting a review of the government’s climate plan and will use its findings to work with Ottawa on a new target that he hopes will be implemented across Canada.
In the meantime, he said the province will be introducing regulatory changes that expand the types of vehicles that count toward the target and give manufacturers credit for making efforts such as lowering prices, offering low-cost or no-cost financing, and helping install charging infrastructure.
Despite that, Dix said one action the province will not be taking is the revival of its rebate program for electric vehicles that previously offered $4,000 off the cost of select models. It was paused in May due to stagnating demand and changing economic conditions. Dix said any new rebates should be a federal responsibility.
In January, the federal government ended its own rebate program, that had offered up to $5,000 off select models, and in September announced it was pausing the rollout of its own EV mandate that had been scheduled to begin in the coming months and would require 20 per cent of new light-duty vehicles to be zero emission next year and 100 per cent by 2035.
At the time of the target’s introduction in 2019, then-energy minister Michelle Mungall said that demand was “a lot higher than originally anticipated” with estimates that 17 per cent of all new light-duty vehicles would be zero-emission by 2025. By 2024, it had blown past that target to reach 25 per cent of total sales.
The share of vehicles sold that are zero-emission has fallen since, however, to 15 per cent this past summer, according to data compiled by the Energy Futures Institute.
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Backlash against Tesla owner Elon Musk has helped dampen sales as has the announcements by major manufacturers such as Ford and General Motors that they are backing away from expanding EV vehicle production due to high costs and lower demand from consumers.
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Dix nevertheless insists the province is still on track to meet its 2026 target of 26 per cent of new light-duty vehicles sales being EVs and its goal of installing 10,000 public charging stations by 2030.
Barry Penner, a former B.C. environment minister and the chair of the Energy Futures Initiative, said the problem with legislating targets for EV sales is that the province has neither the electricity nor the charging infrastructure to meet the demand that would come from 100 per cent of new vehicle sales being fully electric.
He said that the government’s mandates are “not in alignment with consumer reality” and voiced his disappointment the province has no intention of bringing back its rebate program for electric vehicles.
“On the one hand, (Premier David Eby) says we need to stand on our own feet, become more independent from the United States. This EV policy is doing the complete opposite. It’s making us import more electricity, and it’s making us purchase vehicles from the United States, like Tesla,” said Penner.
Blair Qualey, CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of B.C., said he had wanted to see the province take a similar step to Ottawa and pause the mandates while it figures out what its next steps are.
He said manufacturers that can’t meet the target of 26 per cent this year will have to either add $20,000 to the cost of each new gas-powered vehicle they sell over the limit they have been set, buy credits from another manufacturer, or reduce the amount of vehicles they provide to dealerships.
“While we’re pleased to see some efforts being made to make it easier for manufacturers to achieve these unrealistic targets, ultimately, we’ve been calling on both the federal government and the provincial government to just pause everything right now, given all of the challenges with tariffs, the economic situation, affordability issues for consumers, and on and on,” said Qualey.
“Manufacturers have had to start restricting the supply of vehicles. It hasn’t quite hit consumers yet, but it’s about to, and that’s going to be at a time when affordability for everybody is such a challenge.”
As for the opposition, energy critic Hon Chan said the problem with having EV mandates is that many people can’t afford them without government support and, while they may work well in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island, they aren’t practical in certain parts of the north or Interior.
He said the government should leave consumers alone and allow them to choose the vehicle that makes the most sense for them.
“If their lifestyle supports an EV, they should purchase an EV, but if their lifestyle or business cannot have an EV, I think they should have a choice,” said Chan.
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