Environmental Law Alert Blog

Through our Environmental Law Alert blog, West Coast keeps you up to date on the latest developments and issues in environmental law. This includes:

  • proposed changes to the law that will weaken, or strengthen, environmental protection;
  • stories and situations where existing environmental laws are failing to protect the environment; and
  • emerging legal strategies that could be used to protect our environment.

If you have an environmental story that we should hear about, please e-mail Andrew Gage. We welcome your comments on any of the posts to this blog – but please keep in mind our policies on comments.

2020 Canadian Law Blog Awards Winner

In November 2020, the federal government introduced new legislation to help ensure that Canada meets its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050.

This month, we spoke with BC-based novelist William Deverell about his new book, Stung – the latest political-legal thriller in his popular series following lawyer Arthur Beauchamp.

Canada has missed every single greenhouse gas emissions reduction target that is has ever set. Ever. From targets set in Kyoto in 1997, to Copenhagen in 2009 – and we are nowhere close to on track to achieve our 2030 Paris target set in 2015.

Pop quiz: Who recently blamed Alberta and Saskatchewan for Canada failing to meet its international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol?

On 26 March 2021 the BC Government unveiled “sectoral targets” – a range of emissions reductions that different sectors of the BC Economy will (if all goes according to plan) meet by 2030.

The federal government has an over-promising problem, and it’s doing more harm than good.

Trigger warning: this blog addresses sensitive and potentially difficult subject matter, as well as sexist and racist commentary

Why we want informed environmental decision-making, and why the word ‘veto’ is unhelpful