ARCHIVED: Natural Gas Development
- British Columbia is a clean energy leader. We are the first jurisdiction in North America which has made its government operations carbon neutral and our carbon tax has proven to influence positive change with the reduction of province-wide greenhouse gas emissions.
- B.C.'s legislated greenhouse gas targets are: 33% below 2007 levels for the 2020 calendar year, and 80% below 2007 levels for the 2050 calendar year.
- Over the period since 2007 when the Climate Action Plan was implemented, B.C.'s greenhouse gas emissions have gone down. Provincially, provincial greenhouse gas emissions fell 4.5% from 2007 to 2010 while at the same time our GDP growth outpaced the Canadian average.
- This 4.5% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions puts the province within reach of its interim target of 6% below 2007 levels by the 2012 calendar year.
- Oregon and Washington have expressed keen interest in learning more about our climate plan as they prepare plans of their own.
- In 2008, the B.C. government set the target for all public sector organizations to become carbon neutral, which created awareness and incentives for energy conservation and emission reduction projects.
- The Province passed the B.C. Emission Offsets Regulation and created Pacific Carbon Trust to regulate and develop the provincial offsets market.
- The B.C. public sector is the fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the province. The sector also spends nearly $400 million a year on energy.
- By including core government, school districts, Health Authorities, post-secondary institutions and Crown Corporations, B.C. has engaged 300,000 public sector employees in a strategic conversation about climate change and the need for individual and collective action. The conversation also includes approximately 2-million British Columbians who learn in, use or visit 6500 public sector institutions across B.C. - are included in as well.
- B.C.'s investments in carbon offsets have supported innovation, new jobs, economic opportunities and green technologies in communities across the province.
- The revenue from offsets sales helps make clean technology projects a reality, resulting in economic and social benefits, an economy ready to compete in a carbon-constrained world, and greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
- Since 2007, B.C.'s offset investments have leveraged an estimated $300 million of private sector investment across B.C. We are now well situated to attract additional investors who are purchasing offsets for voluntary and regulatory markets. This means jobs and other economic benefits, and support for cleaner technologies to take root in our province.
- A key accomplishment of our carbon neutral government program has been focusing attention on the costs of energy and working with public sector organizations to reduce those costs through investments in energy efficiency.
- Since 2008, B.C. has committed $75 million in this regard and it expects annual energy cost savings of $12 million and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as a result. A new K-12 capital innovation fund will drive further energy savings in school districts across the province.
- Globally, B.C. is at the forefront of a new idea, a new economy, creating incentives for low carbon economic innovation.
- Part of the plan to ensure that our Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) sector is committed to addressing climate change is currently being negotiated with industry. LNG is a major economic engine for B.C. and the goal of clean energy remains in place.
- Until some of the ongoing plans related to LNG development are concluded, we are unable to offer figures on the impacts of GHG emissions.
- The specifics of these negotiations are commercially sensitive, but GHG emissions will be addressed in each case.
- The goal is to maximize the use of clean energy where technically feasible. If any natural gas is used in processing LNG, it would be subject to B.C.'s revenue-neutral carbon tax.
- Options to address natural gas sector emissions include electrification, carbon capture and storage, improved operations and maintenance to prevent leaks, and energy efficiency.
https://news.gov.bc.ca/04309
