Environment, resources & sustainability

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

Jul 13, 2015
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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
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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

Energy and climate in the Harper decade

Jun 26, 2015
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The costs of climate change are piling up, and can no longer be ignored. 2015 is poised to be a landmark year, with a new global treaty on climate to be signed in Paris. In contrast, the Harper decade succeeded in stalling any meaningful climate action. The PM’s record is not just of neglect, but… View Article

Climate Justice and the Good Life, for Everyone

Jun 2, 2015
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In our Climate Justice Project, our research has stressed structural changes and collective action to lower carbon footprints rather than individual behavioural change. The ability of many actors to respond to incentives like a carbon tax is constrained by their circumstances. Suburban households often have no realistic option but to keep driving. Renters have little agency over… 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

Economic Development and the Environment

May 9, 2015
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The biggest challenge facing the new NDP government in Alberta, and an NDP government in British Columbia should one be elected in 2017, is finding the right balance between economic development and environmental objectives. There are some who suggest that there is no conflict — there can be jobs and environmental policies effectively prohibiting certain… 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