Core Target 4: Environmental Quality

Where BC Ranks, Provincial Comparison

Core Target Four, environmental quality, is derived from BC's ranking under three environmental performance indicators (PI 14-PI 16): air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and protected areas. Environmental Quality rankings are the simple average of each province's rank on the three indicators.

Overall, BC ranked first in Canada on environmental quality, with a second place rank on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions and a first place rank on protected areas.

The 'environment' is not easily summarized, especially in cross-jurisdictional comparisons, in any single indicator. For this reason, the Progress Board uses an index to measure environmental quality in its core measurement framework. This index is based on indicators available by province or by cities across Canada.

There are a number of additional measures without direct comparison in other jurisdictions that may enhance our understanding of BC's overall environmental performance. Some of these are discussed briefly in the Additional Environmental Measures Topic Box.