Fracking & LNG

LNG Project Agreement – A Risky Business

Jul 8, 2015
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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

David Hughes responds to BC government and LNG industry

May 28, 2015
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Our recent report by David Hughes, A Clear Look at BC LNG, prompted dismissive comments from the BC government and the LNG industry. They argue that David’s numbers about energy security are wrong, and theirs are right. We asked David to respond: Response to Rich Coleman and the BC LNG Alliance criticism of my “Clear Look… View Article

A Clear Look at BC LNG

May 26, 2015
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Today we released a major new report, A Clear Look at BC LNG: Energy Security, Environmental Implications and Economic Potential, by geoscientist David Hughes. The report considers the ambition of the LNG enterprise as envisioned by the BC government, and delivers the first assessment of the cumulative impacts on LNG development, and in particular the huge… View Article

BC’s Carbon Emissions on the Rise

May 8, 2015
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It was a good story while it lasted. Over the past few years, the BC government and many in the policy community have spun a tale about the remarkable success of BC’s climate action policies, with a big spotlight on the carbon tax as a driver of lower emissions while BC’s economy outperformed the rest… View Article

A BC framework for LNG, part two: the LNG income tax

Oct 21, 2014
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Well, we saw this coming but it’s still sobering to see it in black and white. The BC government’s decision to cut its proposed LNG Income Tax in half (from 7% to 3.5%) is simply a cave in to industry. It’s massive giveaway of a public resource to global corporations by a desperate government who put… View Article

A BC framework for LNG, part one: the carbon benchmark

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The BC government’s proposed carbon pollution benchmarks for LNG plants leave much to be desired. The package is an impressive display of cognitive dissonance: thanks to BC’s inconvenient law, the 2007 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act, along with its carbon tax, the BC government has cultivated a reputation for being a climate action leader; there’s even… View Article

Will offsets be the “indulgences” for our LNG sins?

Jul 18, 2014
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In June 2014, the BC government reported on its progress towards the 2007 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act, which calls for a one-third reduction by 2020 in GHG emissions (relative to 2007 levels) and an 80% reduction by 2050. The BC government claimed to have met a key milestone: an interim target of a 6%… View Article

Don’t believe the (LNG) hype

Apr 30, 2014
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Today we released a new report, Path to Prosperity? A Closer Look at British Columbia’s Natural Gas Royalties and Proposed LNG Income Tax, about liquefied natural gas (LNG ) development in BC, and the public revenues that might be expected. So far, LNG has lacked a real public debate. On one side, we have the… View Article

LNG’s threat to water sustainability

Feb 27, 2014
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By Ben Parfitt and David Hughes One glaring problem with the provincial government’s strategy to turn British Columbia into a liquefied natural gas exporting juggernaut is that it scuttles any chance B.C. has to be a climate change leader. But equally problematic is how our government’s economically dubious fixation with gas exports jeopardizes our irreplaceable… View Article