Fracking & LNG

Is the BC government a climate outlaw?

BC government: climate leader or climate outlaw?

May 24, 2016
At both the Paris climate negotiations last November and the recent federal-provincial climate meetings, Premier Christy Clark was keen to position British Columbia as a climate leader. There may indeed have been a short window during the 2008-2010 period when BC could legitimately (albeit arguably) make such a claim; when the province introduced the carbon… View Article

BC government’s spin cycle on LNG

Mar 15, 2016
Last year, we made freedom of information requests to the BC government about two CCPA-BC studies: A Clear Look at LNG by David Hughes (released May 26) and LNG and Employment in BC by myself (released July 28). Both reports poke holes in extravagant claims being made by the BC government about natural gas supplies, environmental impacts, and economic benefits of… View Article

Methane emissions from fracking: clean LNG’s dirty secret

Feb 25, 2016
The proposed Woodfibre LNG plant near Squamish is an example of what has been called “clean LNG” – that is, the plant will use grid electricity from BC Hydro to power the energy-intensive liquefaction process, instead of gas. This would reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly for this one part of the supply chain. The Woodfibre… View Article

Petronas’ Pacific NorthWest LNG: profile of a carbon bomb

Feb 23, 2016
I submitted the following in response to a call by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency for public comments on the February 2016 draft environmental assessment of the Pacific NorthWest LNG, also commonly known as the Petronas LNG project given the lead corporate proponent. (You can make a submission too). This submission is in regards to the Greenhouse Gas Emissions… View Article

Admitting a post-Paris truth: BC’s LNG pipe dream is over

Dec 28, 2015
Since the signing of the new climate treaty in Paris earlier this month, there’s been plenty of debate as to whether the new global agreement is a turning point or merely more hollow promises. The answer, as the CCPA’s Marc Lee has written, will be revealed in how governments and markets react. In particular, the… View Article

BC’s climate action masquerade

Nov 29, 2015
When BC Premier Christy Clark arrives at the Paris climate conference, as part of a reinvigorated Canadian delegation under PM Trudeau, the world will hear bold statements about BC’s climate leadership. BC has received much praise since its 2008 introduction of a carbon tax (under previous Premier Gordon Campbell), and for its legislated greenhouse gas… View Article

Five LNG whoppers

Nov 12, 2015
British Columbians have heard many “too good to be true” claims about the benefits the province will receive by launching a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industry. The CCPA-BC’s LNG Reality Check series has been examining these claims, and what we have uncovered is a pattern of misinformation about LNG – coming primarily from the… View Article

A petro state, a fracking frenzy and one woman’s battle for justice: Andrew Nikiforuk’s latest should be required reading for MLAs

Oct 14, 2015
Andrew Nikiforuk’s new book, Slick Water: Fracking and One Insider’s Stand Against the World’s Most Powerful Industry, captures like never before how fossil fuel companies must do more and more to coax oil and gas from the ground. And how that each time more effort is made, the social and environmental costs mount…. View Article

Just how bad is BC’s LNG deal with Petronas?

Jul 13, 2015
Last week, the BC government released the text of its Project Development Agreement with Pacific Northwest LNG (led by Malaysian state enterprise, Petronas), considered the front-runner in getting BC an LNG export industry. The agreement goes to the BC legislature this week in order to convince Petronas to make a “final investment decision.” There are still other barriers to this… View Article

LNG Project Agreement – A Risky Business

Jul 8, 2015
The Project Development agreement that the provincial government negotiated with Petronas (Pacific Northwest LNG) and now plans to enshrine in legislation has only one purpose. It is an agreement very clearly designed to prevent this and any future British Columbia government from increasing LNG-specific taxes or changing LNG greenhouse gas regulations in ways that would increase… View Article