B.C. announces $19 million in funding to Forests Ministry to fight climate change
Posted April 28, 2022 10:10 pm.
Last Updated April 28, 2022 10:12 pm.
The provincial government says it’s spending $19-million over three years to boost the role of B.C. forests in fighting climate change.
It says the bulk of the funding will be used to fertilize about 8,500 hectares of forests to increase growth rates and extend the life of trees so they can store more carbon.
Forests Minister Katrine Conroy told the BC Council of Forest Industries conference that the move would lead to a reduction of 3.7 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030.
She said the funding would also be used to develop low-carbon forest products that are critical in the global fight against climate change.
Meanwhile, Conroy also addressed the old-growth logging protests saying both sides of the issue in the province are so polarized they “can’t see the forest for the trees.”
Conroy told those attending the BC Council of Forest Industries conference that, though old-growth logging has garnered passionate public debate recently, she believes the views of most residents fall somewhere in the middle of the extremes.
Conroy says the province is implementing a strategic review of B.C.’s old-growth forest management and is working with First Nations and other partners to develop a new long-term strategy.
She also told the crowd that low-carbon forest products are critical in the global fight against climate change.
