B.C. environment minister hails climate progress but advocates say LNG growth risks it all
CBC
B.C.'s environment minister says 2023's progress report on greenhouse gas reductions shows the NDP government's climate plan is working but environmental groups warn continued development of the liquefied natural gas sector could reverse those reductions.
The report, released Thursday, stated net emissions — emissions minus carbon sequestered by forest management — in 2021 were down four per cent from 2007, the year B.C. uses as a baseline for its targets, and down five per cent since 2018 when the CleanBC plan was launched.
It also notes the province has cut oil and gas methane emissions by 50 per cent, surpassing a goal of 45 per cent by 2050, and that 22 per cent of new vehicles sold are zero-emission, exceeding a goal of 10 per cent by 2025.
"We continue to be on the right path to meet our ambitious emissions-reductions targets, even as our population and our economy have both grown," Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement accompanying the report.
"By continuing to accelerate thoughtful, effective CleanBC policies and by making more investments in clean economic growth, we are confident that we can meet our climate targets and contribute to a secure and more affordable future for British Columbians."
But several environmental groups warn that if the province continues to expand LNG projects, the targets will become nearly impossible to meet and climate progress will go up in smoke.
The David Suzuki Foundation said CleanBC stands out as a "leading climate plan in Canada" with policies focusing on affordability, but LNG growth jeopardizes it.
"B.C. will have a good chance to meet 2030 emissions targets if it reins in support for liquefied natural gas development and focuses on seizing growing opportunities in the clean economy," Tom Green, a senior climate policy adviser with the foundation, said in their statement.
Stand.earth went further, saying Thursday's report suggests B.C. will not hit climate targets for 2025 and 2030.
Construction of any of three provincially-permitted facilities or two facilities currently under review would move B.C. farther away from its goals, it said.
"That is why we are calling on Premier [David] Eby and the B.C. government to stop issuing new permits for fracking wells and other new fossil fuel expansion projects," the group's oil and gas program director Sven Biggs said in the statement.
Matt Hulse, a lawyer with Ecojustice, agreed, saying he couldn't see the targets being met with any more LNG projects built.
"We've already built enough if we want to meet the global climate commitments of limiting global warming to 1.5 C," Hulse said in a phone interview. "It's certainly concerning. I don't think I can underscore that any more."
CBC was told Heyman was not available Friday afternoon due to his schedule at the COP28 meeting in Dubai.
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