Environment, resources & sustainability

The problem with BC’s “clean growth” climate rhetoric

Aug 2, 2018
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The BC government recently released three “intentions papers” on climate policy—transportation, buildings and industry—all wrapped in the term “clean growth.” In fact, the term “clean” appears more than 70 times in just the introduction to the exercise, Towards a Clean Growth Future in BC. Clean growth is not a commonly used term, nor is it… View Article

LNG is incompatible with BC’s climate obligations

Jul 11, 2018
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Now that we are in a sunny lull between the end of flooding season and the start of fire season, it’s time we had a talk about fossil fuels and climate change in BC. The BC government deserves praise for standing up to Alberta and the federal government over the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX),… View Article

Tax breaks and subsidies for BC LNG

Jul 5, 2018
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At the height of LNG-mania in 2013/14, high prices in Asia fueled a gold rush mentality in BC—based on shipping cheap BC gas to Asia for mega-profits. But those high prices proved only temporary, and by 2015 the economic case for LNG (liquified natural gas) turned on its head. The subsequent Asian price for gas… View Article

Threatened caribou further endangered: Suppressed audit shows Oil and Gas Commission undermining provincial efforts to save species

May 28, 2018
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On an April morning in 2014, members of the Fort Nelson First Nation tucked into a helicopter to begin a day of flying to fossil fuel company operations in their territory. The Nation’s lands are part of the expansive Treaty 8 territory that includes northeast British Columbia. A professional biologist from Fort St. John was… View Article

Death of the Oil Weapon

May 17, 2018
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Alberta’s threat last month to cut oil supplies to British Columbia and thereby cause gasoline prices to spike is not an original idea. It is called the oil weapon: holding a supply of critical oil over your customer’s head. As detailed in Daniel Yergin’s tome on the oil industry, The Prize, it was most famously… View Article

Mobility pricing in practice: A look at London, Stockholm and Singapore

Apr 30, 2018
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An independent commission on mobility pricing (also called “road pricing” or “congestion charging”) will report to TransLink and the Mayors’ Council shortly. In a recent CCPA paper, I looked at the types of mobility pricing that could be considered for Metro Vancouver and the challenge of ensuring a new system is fair. Declining technology costs,… View Article