Premier Christy Clark participated at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions today and joined in a wide-ranging discussion with experts and executives from some of the world's leading energy companies.

Watch Strategic Shifts: The Future of Energy (weforum.org)

"To help create jobs at home, it's vital that British Columbia establish new markets for our natural gas," said Premier Clark. "Participating in the Future of Energy panel at the World Economic Forum is the perfect platform to make that case."

The forum brings together 1,500 global business, government and community leaders to share strategies and solutions and discuss global issues.

Premier Clark participated in an hour-long panel session entitled Strategic Shifts: The Future of Energy and discussed British Columbia's valuable natural-gas reserves and government's plans to diversify and expand markets for its clean-energy exports through the development of a liquefied natural gas industry.

"B.C. has an abundance of the energy and other natural resources necessary to fuel our own progress and that of other nations looking to improve their quality of life," said Premier Clark. "We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to help shape the future of energy use around the globe by expanding our natural gas industry. This industry has the potential to create a $1.5 trillion of economic activity in B.C. over the next 30 years."

The panel explored significant trends and emerging models and technologies that are transforming the world's energy landscape. Premier Clark expanded on government's plans to develop natural gas as a clean-energy alternative to higher-emission energy sources and outlined British Columbia's commitment to work in partnership with First Nations communities in the early stages of project development.

The Future of Energy panel participants included:

• Christy Clark, premier of British Columbia.
• Yorihiko Kojima, the chairman of Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation, and one of the founding partners in LNG Canada, a joint venture to build and operate a natural gas terminal in Kitimat.
• Christina Lampe-Önnerud , founder and international chairman, Boston-Power.
• Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University.
• Daniel Yergin, chairman, IHS CERA
• Moderator - David G. Victor of the University of California, San Diego.

The discussion was simultaneously interpreted in English, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese. It also had a live webcast hosted by the World Economic Forum. To view the webcast, visit: http://wef.ch/live

Quick Facts:

• In Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan, B.C.'s government committed to having one liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) facility operating by 2015 and three LNG facilities in operation by 2020.
• Based on current plans, the energy industry is projected to invest up to $48 billion in natural gas facilities and pipelines from 2013 to 2022.
• Construction of three large LNG facilities and more than 1,500 kilometres of pipeline could result in 60,000 person years of employment and up to 1,400 continuing jobs.
• China's demand for LNG is expected to increase fivefold - from 9.3 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) in 2010 to 50.5 mmtpa in 2020.
• At full operation, likely by 2022, exports of LNG could provide the natural gas equivalent of powering 60 million households for a year.

Media Contact:

Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training
250 356-8177