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Welcome to the WE-CAN Climate News Roundup
Your Primary Source for CLIMATE NEWS
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Issue #241 April 28, 2026
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Stay Connected. Be Inspired. Get Involved.
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Top Story
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New - The Public Transit Alliance of BC!
Tuesday April 28, 6 pm Launch of the Public Transit Alliance of BC
From WE-CAN: We have been working to build the Public Transit Alliance of BC since October - a coalition of advocacy groups from across BC. Today, we launch!! For the first time, BC will have a strong group arguing for better transit across BC, from Atlin to Zeballos. Better in our towns and cities, and better across BC’s rural and remote areas, where public transit is effectively non-existent. Speakers include George Anderson, MLA, Parliamentary Secretary for Transit; Emily Lowan, Green Party of BC Leader; Keith Wiley, Kootenay Transit Action; Eric Doherty, transportation planner; and Paul Adams, BC Rural Health Network. Our MC is Heather McCain, ED of LET’S. Can your organization join the Alliance? Click here, and scroll down. Register for the Launch here
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Join the Movement. Fuel the Change. The climate crisis won’t wait — and neither can we. At the West Coast Climate Action Network, we connect with and support nearly 300 climate organizations across BC. Together, we amplify impact, share resources, and drive urgent change.
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But we can’t do it without you!
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By becoming a monthly donor, you provide steady and reliable support that sustains the climate movement throughout the year. Your contributions fund vital coordination, advocacy, events, and tools — empowering people and organizations across BC to fight for a livable future. Monthly giving also makes it easier for you to stay connected to the cause, while helping us plan and grow with confidence
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Whether it’s $5 or $50 a month, your donation directly strengthens climate action in BC — and every dollar adds up.
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Be the spark. Join our growing community of monthly donors today.
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Thank you for standing with us in this decisive decade.
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Action Now!
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📌 Stop LNG, Invest in Renewables Instead (Please write!)
From Stand.earth: Right now, the federal government is considering whether to move forward with a new wave of LNG megaprojects across Canada. They are being promoted as economic opportunities, but many rely on billions in public funding, and could lock Canada into fossil fuel dependence for decades. Urge our government to invest in clean, renewable energy solutions that create good jobs, lower energy costs, and support Indigenous-led projects. As these decisions approach, public voices matter more than ever. Write here
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LNG - Not in The Public Interest!
From Dogwood: Watch our quick video clip here
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📌 Show the Earth Some Love in Just a Couple of Minutes! (By April 29)
From Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada: Please sign our new open letter, calling on Canada to follow the money to a prosperous future. By aligning our financial system with climate science and strengthening industrial carbon pricing, we can build a sustainable economy. You can see the text of the letter here and sign here.
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📌 Share Your Thoughts: 2026-2029 Draft Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (By May 12)
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WE-CAN Friends and Allies
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A Call to Climate Justice Champions — Run! — For Office
From Seth Klein, National Observer: We desperately need more climate justice champions of strong will in office, and the time to start preparing is now. We need leaders ready to treat emergencies as emergencies, and to meet the economic and political crisis brought on by the Trump presidency with bold and creative solutions. If that’s you, then throw caution to the wind and toss your name into the political ring. As the great climate warrior Bill McKibben recently wrote, “What I’ve learned by long observation of the politics around energy and climate: to make real change, it helps immensely to have champions.” Read more
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Earth Month Challenge - Let's Show Some Love For Our Beautiful Home Planet
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From Protect Our Winters: Since 1970, Earth Day has helped push climate action into the mainstream, sparking some of the world’s most significant environmental movements, organizations, and policy changes. This Earth Month, we’re asking you to take a moment, appreciate our beautiful planet, and share about it. We owe it to the people who showed up before us, and the ones who’ll inherit what’s next, to keep going. Enter for a chance to win one of three prize packs. Click here
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Saturday, May 9, 10 am-12 WE-CAN AGM: Climate Action, Past, Present, Future - Register Now
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From WE-CAN: We invite you to join us for our Annual General Meeting, when we will elect new directors, share what we have been up to, and look to the future. Register here
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Climate Solutions
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Quatsino First Nation's Clean Energy Leadership, with Kara Wilson
From WE-CAN: Here is the video from our Lunch & Learn that showcased the ground-breaking project being led by the Quatsino First Nation’s Kara Wilson, focused on harnessing wind, solar, and potentially tidal energy within the traditional lands of the Three Nations of North Vancouver Island. Watch here
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The Future of Electricity Is Wind and Solar, Report Says. Canada Is Lagging Behind
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From CBC: Installing solar is relatively fast, and Canada can catch up. Renewable energy met all new demand for electricity in 2025, according to a new review of global power generation, halting the growth of fossil fuel-powered generation and highlighting the promise of clean sources like wind and solar. Read more
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Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize / Liam Swiggs
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History Made as all Women Lineup Win Goldman Environmental Prize
From RNZ: For the first time in history, the Goldman Environmental Prize - often dubbed the "Green Nobel" has been awarded entirely to women. The six winners are Theonila Roka Matbob (Bougainville), Yuvelis Morales Blanco (Colombia), Borim Kim (South Korea), Alannah Acaq Hurley (United States) Sarah Finch (England) and Iroro Tanshi (Nigeria). Their work spans environmental justice, mining and drilling, climate and energy, and wildlife protection, focusing on the breadth of challenges - and leadership - at the frontlines of the climate crisis. Read more
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The Kids Bike Bus of Struin in Nijmegen, Holland
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From Urban Cycling Institute: We don't need your driverless cars. We need more carless drivers! Watch the kids here
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Forestry and Nature
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Fixing BC’s Forest Act: When the Framework No Longer Fits the Forest
By Jennifer Houghton, Watershed Sentinel: The New Forest Act (NFA) proposes a different starting point: redesigning governance rather than trying to adjust harvest targets within the existing structure. The proposal is organized around three priorities: ecological integrity, community-based decision-making, and stable community economies. At its centre is a spatial planning model known as Protect–Restore–Harvest: Primary forests would be designated for protection, not logging. Degraded landscapes would be prioritized for restoration, including road decommissioning, hydrological repair, and long-term stand recovery. Harvest would be limited to previously logged or roaded areas and calibrated to verified ecological growth rates rather than maximum projected yield. Read more
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The New Forest Act
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From New Forest Act: We’re not just pointing out problems. We’ve written the solution. The New Forest Act is a ready-to-go legislative blueprint. It was shaped with input from ecologists, forestry experts, and affected communities. “The New Forest Act proposal is the most progressive and comprehensive grassroots led new legislation proposal I have ever seen in my 37 year forestry career. This science based, step by step logical transition and community-centric approach is exactly what BC needs now – to modernize and continue to have a functional / ecosystem based forest sector for the 21st century.” ~ Dave Weaver, retired forester, former MOF silviculture specialist, Comox, BC. Read more
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Climate Image of the Week
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Climate Politics and Action
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“The Santa Marta Meeting Has Become a Unique Moment in History”
From We Don’t Have Time: The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels has begun. 57 countries are represented, accounting for more than half of global GDP, 30% of the world’s population, and 20% of fossil fuel extraction. The conference kicked off with a major announcement: With the help of scientific experts, the host country Colombia has developed the world's first roadmap to get off fossil fuels. Read more
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Canada’s ChariTree Foundation Marks 20 Years, 20,000 Trees Planted in Malawi
From Andrea Koehle Jones: Founded on Earth Day in 2006, The ChariTree Foundation began with a simple act: two young children planting a Sitka mountain-ash on Bowen Island. It has since grown into an initiative connecting thousands of children to nature through tree planting and outdoor learning programs in Canada and internationally. On Earth Day, it marked 20 years with a global call for children’s climate education, and a $20,000 donation to plant 20,000 trees in Malawi, where children face escalating climate impacts. Read more
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‘More Destruction of Science’: Trump Fires Every Member of US National Science Board
From Common Dreams: US President Donald Trump on Friday quietly fired every member of the independent board that governs the National Science Foundation. Members were notified in a brief email “on behalf of President Donald J. Trump” that their “position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately.” Read more
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British Columbians Understand Climate Change is Driving Up Prices; Want Fossil Fuel Industry Held Accountable
From West Coast Environmental Law: Our new poll of BC residents shows that 53-58% understand that increases in food prices, water scarcity and home insurance premiums are driven by climate change. 76% want senior levels of government to pay for the costs of climate change (23% support local governments raising taxes.) And 67% want their local governments to seek compensation from fossil fuel companies and other polluters for municipal climate costs (20% oppose). If forced to choose between low taxes or “spending what’s needed” to keep their community safe from climate impacts, 49% favour ensuring climate safety, versus 36% favouring low taxes. Read more
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Fossil Fuel Investors Increasingly Suing Governments That Act on Climate
From The Energy Mix: Fossil fuel investors are increasingly using the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system to seek compensation when governments enact policies like coal phaseouts and oil and gas extraction bansAt least 249 known fossil fuel-related ISDS cases had been filed as of late 2024, and there may be more that aren’t public. Global reform is needed, and existing treaties need to be reviewed with an eye to reforming or removing ISDS, exclude it from new treaties, and use international conferences to build support for overhauling the system. Read more
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Alarm Bells Ring as Ottawa Tips Toward New Pipeline to Southern B.C.
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From The Energy Mix: Alarm bells are ringing after media reports that the federal government is leaning toward a new pipeline through southern British Columbia, with a terminus in Burnaby or Delta. Either option would increase the risk to the endangered southern resident killer whale population. Meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement demands a dramatic reduction of fossil fuel consumption on the order of 80% for oil. So any future scenario in which Canadian oil exports are thriving in 20 years is not a secure scenario for Canadians or humankind. Read more
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Climate Science and Impacts
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‘The Damage is Done’: Global Oil Crisis has Changed Fossil Fuel Industry Forever, IEA Chief Says
From The Guardian: The oil crisis triggered by the Iran war has changed the fossil fuel industry forever, turning countries away from fossil fuels to secure energy supplies, the world’s leading energy economist said. Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said a key effect of the US-Israel war on Iran was that countries would lose trust in fossil fuels, and demand for them would reduce. Read more
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Image: Ben Jennings, The Guardian
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A Catastrophic Climate Event Is Upon Us. Here Is Why You’ve Heard So Little About It
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From George Monbiot, The Guardian: Scientists say a crucial Atlantic system is more likely to collapse than previously thought. But the billionaire death cult that steers humanity’s destiny doesn’t do existential crises, and has its fingers around humanity’s throat. It both causes and downplays our existential crisis. The oligarchs are not just a class enemy but, as they have always been, a societal enemy: a few thousand people can destroy civilisations. It’s the billions v the billionaires, and the stakes could not possibly be higher. Read more
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What Is One Tonne of Carbon Dioxide? Easy Comparisons
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From Drawdown: Carbon in Context is a free-to-use tool that converts greenhouse gas emissions quantities into familiar terms. It can help you better understand and communicate climate change with clarity. Read more
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You Can Take Action! Events, Protests and Rallies
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*PLEASE NOTE* If your climate organization is a WE-CAN member, click “Post your Event” under ‘Calendar’, and it will be added following approval.
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The calendar is a great networking tool, helping you connect and share events with the broader climate movement. Check it out and start posting your events today!
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Organize Transformational Change with UVic’s Micro-Certificate in Climate Activism
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From UVic Continuing Studies: Are you looking to develop, lead and support effective climate action? Build practices for organizing transformational change including strategic landscape analysis, effective communication, and alliance-building skills. Learners and climate activists can choose to focus on issues such as Indigenous allyship, systems transformation or collaborative governance. Details here
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Wednesday, April 29, 10 am Finding Clarity, Courage, and Community in Climate Action: A Conversation with Dr. Katherine Wilkinson
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From Drawdown: A conversation with climate leader and author Katharine Wilkinson, Ph.D., to explore the ideas behind her upcoming book, Climate Wayfinding: Healing Ourselves and the Planet We Call Home. Together, we’ll reflect on how we move from climate ache to meaningful action – and how each of us can uncover our role in advancing science-based climate solutions. Register here
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Wednesday, April 29, 7 pm Do We Still Care About Climate Change? (In Vancouver)
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From UBC Centre for Democracy: Climate change is an ever-growing existential threat to our species, yet many polls show climate is not a top priority. What does this mean for communities on the frontlines of climate change? Join our conversation with Eugene Kung, staff lawyer for West Coast Environmental Law; Andrea Reimer, former Vancouver City Councillor who spearheaded the Greenest City plan; and Seth Klein, author of A Good War. Vancouver, Central Library, Register here
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Thursday, April 30, 8:30 am-10 am Victoria Climate Coffee
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Victoria Climate Coffee is a monthly meet-up for people across the Region who are involved in or interested in climate action. Launched in 2023, Climate Coffee hosts regular meet-ups in 30+ cities worldwide, convening founders, investors, operators, scientists and students in informal surroundings to chat about all things climate. It’s a place where everyone can meet and talk openly about how to approach climate issues. Hub International, 645 Tyee Rd, Room #200, Esquimalt. Details here
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Thursday, April 30, 7 pm What are the Health Harms of Flaring from LNG? (In Vancouver)
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From CAPE and friends: Doctors and nurses will share the latest research on the threats that LNG development poses for public health, especially in rural and Indigenous communities. Residents will share their firsthand experience in Kitimat where excess flaring by LNG Canada is affecting the health and wellbeing of community members. SFU Harbour Centre - Fletcher Challenge Theatre, 555 West Hastings. Details here
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Thursday, April 30, 12 – 1 pm How to Meet with Your MLA on Climate (By Zoom)
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From BC Climate Emergency Campaign: Want to influence climate action in BC? Join our training to learn how to present the 2025 Climate Action Progress Report to your MLA. It gave the government 8 out of 10 failing grades - and yet MLAs keep telling us their constituents no longer care about climate action. Let’s prove them wrong! Register here
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Thursday, April 30, 4 pm Canada Action Call: Oil is Costing Us Too Damn Much
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From 350.org: As a result of the illegal war on Iran, Canada’s oil giants are raking in billions they didn’t earn and don’t deserve. This year alone, Canadian Oil and Gas companies could make extra profits to the tune of $50-100 billion. Please join us for a major organizing call with Jim Stanford, about the economic case for an excess profits tax, and Serena Mendizabal, managing Director of Sacred Earth, who will paint us a picture of the energy transition we could fund if we harnessed those billions. And we will take action to demonstrate mass public support for this important intervention. Register here
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Thursday, April 30, 7pm What are the Health Harms of Flaring from LNG? (In Vancouver)
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From CAPE and friends: Doctors and nurses will share the latest research on the threats that LNG development poses for public health, especially in rural and Indigenous communities. Residents will share their firsthand experience in Kitimat where excess flaring by LNG Canada is affecting the health and wellbeing of community members. SFU Harbour Centre - Fletcher Challenge Theatre, 555 West Hastings. Details here
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May 2, 10 am - 3 pm, New West SHIS: Sustainable Homes Info Sessions
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Step Inside Sustainable Living in New West on May 2nd! Tour homes to learn about climate mitigation, adaptation, biodiversity, and how to make changes in your home with something for all housing types. Three single-family homes and a laneway home will be included with information pertaining to condos and apartments. Secure bike storage will be provided. HUB Cycling is providing a guided tour of the three sites and (free) registration is required. Location: 552 Amess Street, 416 St. George Street & 920 2nd Street, New Westminster, BC
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May 11 – 15 Allyship, Solidarity and Transforming Relations (In Victoria)
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From UVic Continuing Studies: Settler colonialism and capitalism have damaged relationships with land and with each other. As we seek to build strong alliances between Indigenous Peoples and settlers we need to be unlearning white supremacy, hierarchy and dominance, and learning to build trust, reciprocity and accountability. $654. Details here
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Wednesday, May 20, 7–8:30 pm Faith & Climate: From Concern to Collective Action (In Victoria)
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How are we, as people of faith and spirituality, called to respond to the climate crisis at this moment? Across Victoria, many are already taking meaningful action—through greening initiatives, education, advocacy, and protest. We invite you to join us to share what you are doing, and explore ways to strengthen our collective impact. Hosted by Michael Polanyi (Unitarian Universalist Community of Victoria) and Reilly Yeo (Co-Founder of My Climate Plan; Unitarian Universalist Association). Friends’ Meeting House, 1831 Fern Street, Victoria. RSVP here.
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Grants, Job Vacancies and More!
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Are You Hosting a Climate Event Through a PICS-Network University? We Can Provide Support.
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From PICS: Our University Climate Knowledge Mobilization Events program supports climate change-related research dissemination, knowledge mobilization, and events hosted by PICS university (UBC, SFU, UNBC, UVic) groups, organizations, departments, or institutes. The program offers up to $2,500 for eligible events. We aim to support up to 35 events a year and will close when funding is fully subscribed. Read more
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Environment Funders
Their list of members is here - a useful source of thinking when it comes to fundraising
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WE-CAN’s Fundraising Toolkit for Climate Action Groups is here
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From all of us in the West Coast Climate Action Network
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We honour the title and rights of the Indigenous peoples on whose ancestral lands we live and work.
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