Inflation is threatening to derail the climate plans of one of the most ambitious municipalities in British Columbia, prompting fears cities across the province could be quietly following a similar path.
In response, staff at the District of Saanich have become the first in Canada to propose an aggressive solution to close the fiscal gap and balance the district's budget: sue the world鈥檚 largest oil and gas companies.
On Monday, council members for the District of Saanich unanimously passed the recommendation, which now directs staff to explore joining other local governments in potential future litigation.
Fossil fuels are the primary drivers of human-caused climate change. Research has shown that between 1954 and 2010, were responsible for nearly two-thirds of all fossil fuel emissions worldwide.
Over several of those decades, there is a wide body of evidence alleging many fossil fuel companies knowingly deceived the public on the impacts their products have had on the world鈥檚 climate system.
Any potential lawsuit would seek to recover the city鈥檚 fair share of costs associated with the resulting extreme heat waves, drought, floods, increasingly powerful storms and sea level rise.
The recommendation is not without precedent. More than 60 local governments in the United States have brought similar lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, and last year, California sued the American Petroleum Institute and five of the largest oil and gas companies in the world for state-wide climate-related harms.
One of climate activists鈥� biggest legal victories came in 2021, when a called on Shell to move more aggressively to reduce its emissions. But many cases governments have brought against petroleum companies have yet to be tested in front of a judge, and it鈥檚 not clear how such class-action litigation would fare in the B.C. court system.
Governments falling behind on climate targets
The move from the Vancouver Island municipality comes as federal, provincial and local governments across the country consistently fail to meet their climate targets.
Last week, Vancouver was the latest large city to it is not likely to meet most of its 2030 targets, including zero-emission heating; promoting complete, walkable neighbourhoods; and active transportation and transit.
In the District of Saanich鈥檚 case, high rates of inflation and oversubscribed federal and provincial funding has left the municipality falling behind on its own climate targets, according to a recent to council.
By 2022, staff found the district鈥檚 emissions had decreased 16 per cent from its 2007 baseline, less than half of the 33 per cent drop the community should have hit to remain on track to its own targets.
鈥淚nflation really has had an impact on us,鈥� Rebecca Newlove, manager of sustainability at the District of Saanich, said in an interview.
Newlove pointed to recent plans to retrofit two community centres, and in the process, lower the community鈥檚 carbon footprint by thousands of tonnes a year. To help pay for the upgrades at the G.R. Pearkes and Cedar Hill rec centres, staff went to the B.C. and federal governments for a combined $5.2 million in grants.
But when those were finally approved, inflation and building costs had raised the district鈥檚 share of the projects to unsustainable levels. Newlove said the district asked both governments for more money, but there wasn鈥檛 any.
Staff scrambled for another solution, eventually choosing a path that led to more electricity consumption at one facility, and no upgrades to a tennis and squash court at the other.
While small in scope, Newlove says the two projects are emblematic of sacrifices facing several municipalities across British Columbia and beyond.
鈥淲e are not alone,鈥� she said.
Saanich could be a sign of things to come
Compared to many communities in B.C., Saanich has carried out especially rigorous reporting on progress toward its climate targets.
And while the local government has made some positive progress in recent years, its latest climate report card found one in five of its climate actions are behind schedule or on hold.
The district鈥檚 two largest emitting sectors 鈥� transportation and housing 鈥� remain far off-track its 2030 targets.
According to the latest report, public transit trips need to double within six years in a community where the number of trips taken by transit have actually dropped to seven per cent in 2023 from 8.7 per cent in 2007. In six years, 100 per cent of the district buses should be electric, according to its plan. But so far, less than one per cent have made the fuel switch.
When it comes to the community鈥檚 built environment, only 1.7 per cent of buildings have had their gas heating systems replaced with renewable energy systems. The district鈥檚 2030 target is 40 per cent.
Meanwhile, Newlove said the community hasn鈥檛 even begun cost estimates on adaptation plans to fend off coastal flooding.
Without enough government funding to accelerate its action on climate change, Newlove said Saanich is looking at more creative ways to balance its budget.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going up to budget time and we鈥檙e realizing that gap,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e know the numbers are going to be a lot bigger.鈥�
Property tax not enough to cover rising climate costs
Nanaimo councillor Ben Geselbracht said his staff have yet to produce numbers that would reflect how inflation is squeezing the city鈥檚 climate policies. But like any program that leans on matching outside grants during periods of high inflation, he says a reckoning is coming.
鈥淯nder the financial pressures everyone is under, I think it鈥檚 just a matter of time,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here just isn鈥檛 enough money from property tax that鈥檚 able to cover it.鈥�
From fire-proofing urban boundaries to upgrading sewers to handling increased floods, the cost to confront climate change is massive. One national from the Insurance Bureau of Canada suggests adapting to and reducing the impacts from climate change requires $5.3 billion in spending.
Most of climate change鈥檚 financial impacts are expected to be felt heaviest in cities, where millions of people live and billions of dollars of infrastructure is at risk.
Some cities in B.C., such as Vancouver, are in the process of assessing how much climate change will cost them locally. At the national level, modelling from the Canadian Climate Institute shows that for every one dollar invested, governments can save between $13 and $15 in future damages.
But first, a city needs money to invest, often above and beyond what it can raise through property taxes, say experts, politicians and municipal staff.
A plan to 'Sue Big Oil' gains incremental support
In response to that funding gap, in 2022, the Vancouver law firm West Coast Environmental Law, along with several other advocacy groups, launched a campaign to join B.C.鈥檚 municipalities in a class-action suit against fossil fuel companies.
Under the banner 鈥�,鈥� cities who have signed on agree to put $1 for every resident into a fund for future legal fees.
鈥淭he logic is simple,鈥� said Andrew Gage, a staff lawyer with the firm. 鈥淭hose who profit from selling harmful products should bear their fair share of the costs of the harms caused by their products.鈥�
Known in legal circles as the 鈥減olluter pays鈥� model, in 2019, 28 Canadian law professors wrote an in support of municipalities pursuing such legal action. The suit would be novel in the same way the first cases set precedents on Indigenous rights, gay marriage or claiming compensation from tobacco and asbestos companies, wrote the legal experts. And just like those cases, it would be hard to judge whether it will succeed.
鈥淗owever, this does not mean that such a lawsuit cannot be won or that local governments should not explore its potential,鈥� they wrote.
The law professors added that existing legal principles 鈥渃ould form a solid basis" for such a lawsuit and would help establish accountability for past actions and target 鈥�.鈥�
The Sue Big Oil campaign received a big boost only months after it launched when the City of Vancouver passed a motion to commit nearly $700,000 to the fund. But last year, the new municipal government under Mayor Ken Sim did not include the plan in its budget.
That hasn鈥檛 stopped some smaller B.C. cities from signing on. Last week, Qualicum Beach became the fourth municipality in the province 鈥� joining Gibsons, 撸奶社区and View Royal 鈥� to back future litigation against oil and gas companies.
Vancouver Island鈥檚 Capital Regional District (CRD), meanwhile, voted to explore joining a future lawsuit in December 2023, with a report due back from staff in the spring of 2024.
鈥淲e are looking into the request to join,鈥� CRD spokesperson Andy Orr said in an email. 鈥淭hat is all I can say for now.鈥�
Support for a class action appears to extend beyond those few communities. A 2022 found about 69 per cent of B.C. residents supported local governments suing 鈥楤ig Oil鈥� to cover the costs of climate change.
Saanich鈥檚 decision a Canadian first
So far in B.C., past motions for cities to sue 'Big Oil' were brought forward by politicians, themselves backed by community interest groups aligned with the advocacy campaign.
Saanich鈥檚 step toward a potential lawsuit was fundamentally different, said Gage.
鈥淯s [politicians aligned with the 'Big Oil' campaign] saying that we need a lawsuit is a political act,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut when staff are doing it, their focus is very much on how do we get this budget balanced.鈥�
鈥淭his is the first time we鈥檝e seen it in Canada.鈥�
On Monday, a number of public speakers came to support Saanich's consideration of a class-action suit. Speaking to Saanich councillors Monday night, one resident from View Royal said that as the largest municipality on the South Island, Saanich has always played a unique role in leading on climate policy.
鈥淚 sincerely hope you will lead the charge鈥︹�� she said.
Others at the council chambers noted that B.C.鈥檚 class-action laws make it an ideal jurisdiction to file a lawsuit. Unlike some others in Canada, the province does not require plaintiffs to cover the other side鈥檚 legal costs should they lose the case.
In the end, Saanich鈥檚 mayor and council voted unanimously to back the staff plan to assess joining a potential class action.
鈥淐limate change is about debt and paying down that debt,鈥� said Coun. Nathalie Chambers. 鈥淲e need to pay.鈥�
Several councillors said they would like to see cities across Canada, including the Union of BC Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, get involved if Saanich were to pursue such an ambitious legal case. Neither municipal body was available to comment by the time of publication.
Mayor Dean Murdock said that in backing an exploration of a class action, council was signalling that 鈥渨e can't go it alone鈥� and that the district's 鈥渓imited tax base鈥� won鈥檛 be enough to reach climate targets that require a 鈥渨artime effort.鈥�
鈥淭his is going to be a long haul,鈥� said the mayor. 鈥淚 think it's well worth doing. But we got to make sure if we're going, we're all going together.鈥�
