 Environment - April 12, 2008 |
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New poll shows western concern about environment
More Albertans rank protection as priority than in 2003 |
By Kevin Ma
Staff Writer
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Four out of 10 Western Canadians say their governments should cut greenhouse gas emissions even at the expense of the economy, says a major survey.
The Canada West Foundation released its report on western attitudes towards climate change Thursday. The Calgary-based think-tank polled 4,000 people in western Canada (1,000 from Alberta) on the environment as part of its annual Looking West project, which tracks trends.
The report found that eight of 10 western Canadians said that environmental protection was a high or very-high priority, second only to health care. About 60 per cent ranked greenhouse gas reduction as their highest priority, making it the fourth-most important issue out of the 15 ranked in the survey, beating out tax cuts, post-secondary education and roads.
That shows a strong consensus for action, said Robert Roach, director of research at Canada West. "Western Canadians across the provinces, Alberta included, are pretty gung-ho when it comes to action on climate change."
About four out of 10 western Canadians also said they would support greenhouse gas reductions even if this meant a slowdown in the economy — a surprisingly high number, Roach said. "The fact that there’s a third of people in the province … who are willing to see the economy take a hit, that suggests that although it’s not the majority, that there’s a wellspring of support for pretty dramatic action, things like carbon taxes and so forth, on climate change."
Alberta turning green
The survey found that environmental protection was a consensus issue in the west, with little difference in how provinces ranked it in importance. It also found that this issue was rising in importance. About 10 per cent more Albertans gave environmental protection a high/very-high priority in 2008 than they did in 2003.
Godo Stoyke, former St. Albert resident and head of the Edmonton-based environmental consultant group Carbon Busters, attributed this rise to recent public developments like Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fourth report. "Climate change itself is becoming more apparent to the average person," he added.
The survey found that most westerners were taking action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, but favoured voluntary, inexpensive ones. Almost everyone (98 per cent) said they would be willing to make their homes more efficient, for example, and 80 per cent already had, but just 46 per cent said they would be willing to pay more for heat or gasoline.
The survey also found a big gap when it came to hybrid cars: about 83 per cent of respondents said they would be willing to buy one, but just six per cent had actually done so.
Price is probably the main reason for this, Roach said — hybrids typically cost about $2,500 more than other cars, according to the Alberta Motor Association — but that will change as more hybrids hit the road. Most of B.C.’s cab drivers have already bought hybrids, he noted.
The survey suggests that governments should try to make their climate change policies cash-neutral, Roach said, returning money removed through policies by other programs.
The province could also set an absolute cap on emissions, Stoyke said, and leave the specifics on how to stay below it up to consumers. Some homeowners could cut their carbon footprint six-fold by switching from a car to a bus, for example.
The survey is considered accurate to within 1.5 points (3.1 on a provincial level) 95 per cent of the time, and is available at www.cwf.ca. |
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