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British Columbians understand climate change is driving up prices; want fossil fuel industry held accountable
New poll reveals how BC residents view climate costs VANCOUVER, BC | xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) & səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Territories – West Coast Environmental Law has released a poll of BC residents, exploring how the costs of climate change are viewed, including how local governments should pay for them. The survey of 804 BC residents, conducted by polling firm Stratcom, found that a majority of British Columbians:
- Understand that increases in food prices, water scarcity and home insurance premiums are driven by climate change. (57% for food prices; 58% for water scarcity and 53% for home insurance premiums)
- Want senior levels of government to pay for the costs of climate change (76% support, compared with 23% who support their local governments raising taxes for this purpose.)
- Want their local government to seek compensation from fossil fuel companies and other polluters for municipal climate costs (67% support, only 20% oppose).
There is substantial support for these positions across all demographics, all regions and the political spectrum.
The survey indicated that if British Columbians are forced to choose between low taxes or “spending what is needed” to keep their community safe from climate impacts, a large plurality (49%) favour ensuring climate safety (versus 36% favouring low taxes). “Climate change is no longer an abstract threat to future generations, and British Columbians know that it is driving up their grocery prices and insurance premiums, undermining access to clean water, and forcing governments to pay to rebuild infrastructure after climate disasters,” said Andrew Gage, Staff Lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law.
“British Columbians expect their local governments to take action to protect their communities from growing climate risks and costs. They want the bill to be paid, to the extent possible, by fossil fuel companies and senior levels of government, but at the end of the day they want local governments to deal with the threats of climate change.”
The finding that British Columbians want the Province to take the lead in paying for climate costs is particularly timely given the recent announcement that the Local Government Climate Action Program has not been renewed.
West Coast Environmental Law is Secretariat to the Sue Big Oil campaign, which calls on BC local governments to work together to seek financial compensation from global fossil fuel companies through a class action lawsuit. Over two-thirds (67%) of Survey respondents supported such a lawsuit (32% strongly), with above 50% support from voters affiliated with all major provincial political parties.
These questions were fielded in an online omnibus survey conducted with 804 B.C. adult residents from March 5th to March 12th, 2026, using a proprietary opt-in panel. The sample is statistically weighted to match the gender, age, region, education and proportion of Chinese mother tongue in the province as per the 2021 Census. The data has also been weighted to match the proportion of voters by party in the 2024 BC provincial election. A margin of error cannot be calculated on a non-probability sample, but for comparison purposes, a probability sample of 801 respondents would have a margin of error of 3.5%, 19 times out of 20.
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