B.C. has granted approval for Cedar LNG. Critics say it's incompatible with the province's climate goals
Green MLA says B.C. 'wants to have its cake and eat it too'
Following the announcement that a northern B.C. First Nation has been granted a provincial environmental assessment certificate for a floating liquefied natural gas facility, critics question whether it's compatible with the province's climate goals.
Premier David Eby said Tuesday that the $3-billion Cedar liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Kitimat, B.C., proposed by the Haisla Nation will employ 500 people during construction and support 100 full-time jobs once operational.
Cedar LNG will have the capacity to liquefy approximately three million tonnes of LNG per year for export to Asian markets.
"The choice between protecting the environment and creating good jobs is a false one," Eby said Tuesday. "We see a better way."
Back in October, weeks before being sworn in as premier, Eby said: "We cannot continue to subsidize fossil fuels and expect to transition to a clean energy future."
It's a quote critics say contradicts B.C.'s decision to approve Cedar LNG.
"B.C. continues to be a jurisdiction that wants to have its cake and eat it too," Green MLA Adam Olsen said.
B.C. has legislated substantial reductions to greenhouse gas emissions over the next three decades, including a 38 per cent reductions in oil and gas emissions by 2030.
Chris Kennedy, an industrial ecology professor at the University of Victoria, says Cedar LNG doesn't align with the province's targets.
"We are a fossil-fuel-mining province, and we kind of ignore that when we come up with our climate change plans," Kennedy said.
Non-profit calls for transition away from fossil fuels
The announcement came on the same day the B.C. government released its new energy action framework to make sure oil and gas sector projects fit with its climate commitments.
Under the new framework, all proposed LNG facilities must pass an emissions test with a credible plan to be net zero by 2030.
Peter McCartney with the Western Canada Wilderness Committee said the announcement was "a poor cover for a brand new fossil fuel infrastructure project when the province is already not on track to meet its climate commitment.''
McCartney said he couldn't square the approval of the project with the province's climate goals.
"I would have liked to hear the premier announce a plan for the transition away from fossil fuels that obviously does not include building brand new liquefied natural gas projects that will be around for decades,'' he said.
"That's what bold climate action looks like in the 2020s.''
There will also be an emissions cap, but Olsen says he is still looking for answers.
"When we were asking questions about some of the details, they're yet to be determined," he said.
Members of the Haisla Nation contend LNG is the most viable option when it comes to expanding their resource sector and preserving the land.
"There's a reason why my band did not go down the road of solar and wind," said Ellis Ross, the MLA for Skeena and the former chief councillor of the Haisla Nation.
"There's just too many unanswered questions, there's too much land impact."
With files from Jon Hernandez and The Canadian Press