Wilderness Committee names the top 30 people stopping action to protect the climate in British Columbia

VANCOUVER / UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh AND səlilwətaɬ TERRITORIES — Wilderness Committee has released a “Dirty 30” list of individuals who, in its opinion and from its experience, are holding back climate action in British Columbia. 

Lobbyists, politicians and corporate interests, the Dirty 30 are people the Wilderness Committee believes work to prolong the province’s reliance on industries that damage the climate like fracking and old-growth logging. They regularly meet with government officials or otherwise undermine climate action.

“From our research, these are people we believe are working against the planet and our safe future on it,” said Climate Campaigner Peter McCartney. “We’re trying to shed light on the players steering us to climate disaster to help decision-makers and the public see through the greenwash.”

BC’s Dirty Thirty includes outgoing Premier John Horgan and his chief of staff, a long list of fossil fuel lobbyists and public servants whose actions often serve industry. Some of their roles also speak to how certain government actors — the courts, regulators or police — uphold the interests of big polluters and stand in the way of action to protect the climate.

“If we’re going to meet our commitments and prevent these climate disasters from getting any worse, we cannot let bad faith actors stand in our way,” said McCartney. “We cannot afford distractions around unproven technologies that preserve the bottom line of fossil fuel companies over the climate that sustains life on this planet.”

The full list is available at BCsDirtyThirty.ca with descriptions of why these individuals landed themselves on there. Incoming premier David Eby should be aware of how polluting interests exert power.

“B.C. should slam the door on fossil fuel lobbyists and clean house within the government so we can get on with the critical work of tackling the climate emergency,” said McCartney. “Don’t listen to the people and interests most responsible for this crisis.”
 

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Media contact:

Peter McCartney, Climate Campaigner
778-239-1935, peter@wildernesscommittee.org