Premier David Eby. (photo courtesy of the B.C. Government/Flickr)

By Liam Verster

new funding

B.C. government investing in climate emergency readiness

Feb 21, 2023 | 1:35 PM

The provincial government is taking action to protect B.C. communities and individuals from climate emergencies.

Two measures to support communities facing risks of natural disasters related to climate change were announced Tuesday, Feb. 21.

“First, we’re investing an additional $180 million in the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF). This will nearly double our investment in the fund to support both First Nations and local governments as we all work together to better prepare communities before disaster strikes,” Premier David Eby said.

“Second, we’re launching Climate Ready B.C., a one-stop online platform that provides tools and resources to help communities prepare for climate emergencies and natural disasters. It provides risk data as well as hazard and mapping tools, and funding opportunities for communities to access resources to mitigate disaster risks.”

The CEPF funds could be accessed to support initiatives such as developing evacuation routes, flood mitigation projects, infrastructure enhancements, and providing equipment and training at volunteer fire departments.

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The online hub contains recent and historical data on natural disasters and their causes, hazard-risk levels for events such as wildfires, floods and earthquakes, and tools that can be used by people, local governments and First Nations to report issues such as debris buildup caused by flooding.

“Recent extreme weather events have caused a lot of destruction in B.C. and people are looking to our government to help keep them and their families safe,” Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, said.

“Through ClimateReadyBC and a historic investment in CEPF, we’re increasing the tools and the resources communities need to prepare for climate-related emergencies.”

The new funds for the CEPF come from the province’s nearly $6 billion surplus.

The new online portal will be continuously enhanced and expanded through ongoing work with First Nations, local governments and other partners. This includes a plan to create an extreme heat-risk portal and additional data and tools to integrate mapping platforms developed by the First Nations Emergency Services Society.