Climate change & energy policy

Petronas’ Pacific NorthWest LNG: profile of a carbon bomb

Feb 23, 2016
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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

Site C’s biggest beneficiary? Natural gas companies, not us.

Feb 5, 2016
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This post originally appeared on DeSmog Canada. On January 20, BC Hydro issued a press release singing the praises of a new hydro transmission line not far from where preliminary work has begun to build the $9-billion Site C dam. The release, headlined “New transmission line to power development in the south Peace”, featuring boosterish… View Article

What’s wrong with a revenue neutral carbon tax?

Jan 22, 2016
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The political appeal of a revenue neutral carbon tax is clear. The tax provides an incentive to reduce fossil fuel use, and the revenue neutrality — reducing income or other taxes in amounts more or less equal to the amount of carbon tax revenues that the government receives — makes the whole exercise rather painless…. View Article

No shortage of compelling ideas for Finance Minister Bill Morneau

Jan 19, 2016
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New federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau has invited Canadians to submit their ideas and priorities for the next Federal Budget. People are welcome to share their suggestions via email, a survey and social media on a site the government has created here. The finance minister says, “I am embarking on an intensive cross-Canada conversation with… View Article

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

Dec 28, 2015
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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
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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

We’re putting fossil fuel industry influence under the microscope

Nov 27, 2015
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By Bill Carroll and Shannon Daub The tremendous concentration of power and influence we see in the fossil fuel industry today places sharp limits on our democracy (for examples, see our previous post). And as oil, gas and coal corporations pursue their relatively narrow, short-term profit goals, crafting effective responses to the climate crisis becomes… View Article

Why corporate power is a problem at the climate crossroads

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By Shannon Daub and Bill Carroll As world leaders head to Paris for next week’s UN climate conference, the spotlight is being turned on the fossil fuel industry’s tremendous economic and political clout. The COP21 talks are sponsored by some decidedly climate-unfriendly multinationals, prompting the watchdog group Corporate Accountability International to launch a petition —signed… View Article