VICTORIA - In advance of Earth Day, the B.C. government is investing $312,000 in climate change research in the Pacific region as British Columbia becomes a world leader in environmental management, Environment Minister Barry Penner announced today.

"Providing funding to environmental research organizations helps attract the best experts in the world," said Penner. "It also offers the opportunity for made-in-B.C. solutions to challenges that affect the entire planet."

The funding was provided to the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC) to build capacity and broaden its work and resources. The consortium was established in 2005 with a $100,000 investment from the Ministry of Environment, and support from the University of Victoria. With a full-time staff of six, PCIC provides science-based, policy-relevant climate change information to provincial agencies, communities and businesses.

"Securing further stakeholder support and attracting new talent are ongoing processes which demand ever-greater capacity and, of course, new investment," said PCIC executive director Harry Swain. "This funding will extend our reach to the public, and to the scientific and business communities as well."

Some of B.C.'s key initiatives to tackle the challenge of global warming include:
* The B.C. government will aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 33 per cent below current levels by 2020. That target will place emissions 10 per cent under 1990 levels.
* Interim targets will be set for 2012 and 2016 through a Climate Action Team that will determine the most credible, aggressive, and economically viable targets.
* All electricity produced in B.C. will be required to have net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2016.
* Greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas industry will be reduced to 2000 levels by 2016, including a zero-flaring requirement at producing wells and production facilities.
* A low-carbon fuel standard will be established that will reduce carbon intensity of all passenger vehicles by at least 10 per cent by 2020.
* Effective immediately, B.C. will become the first jurisdiction in North America, if not the world, to require 100 per cent carbon sequestration for any coal-fired electricity project.

"Fighting climate change doesn't stop at controlling emissions," Penner said. "Unavoidable effects are already being felt in the Pacific region and worldwide. Our climate is changing now and we need to learn how to adapt."

PCIC's wealth of expertise is crucial to B.C.'s plan to combat climate change.

Funding research into the impact of climate change is part of the provincial government's overarching plan to lead the world in sustainable environmental management. To find out more about the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, visit: pacificclimate.org