Brief – Legal Options for Implementing a Federal Oil and Gas Emissions Cap
This brief outlines legal options for implementing a federal cap on oil and gas emissions throughout Canada.
Climate and Energy
WCEL Statement Regarding the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO)’s Trans Mountain Pipeline Update Report
VANCOUVER/Musqueam, Squamish & Tsleil-Waututh Territories - Today, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released a report confirming what West Coast Environmental Law has been stating for years: that the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMX) will lose money for its owners, the Canadian public. In the PBO’s own words, “Trans Mountain no longer continues to be a profitable undertaking.”
“We are going to Sue Big Oil”: The birth of a new movement
“We are going to sue Big Oil,” noted journalist Avi Lewis told us. “This is an historic moment, and you are going to be able to tell everyone you were here when it began.”
BC’s climate adaptation plan, while a step in the right direction, needs to recognize the magnitude and true costs of climate impacts in BC
VANCOUVER/Musqueam, Squamish & Tsleil-Waututh Territories – Lawyers with West Coast Environmental Law welcomed the release of BC’s Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy today and noted improvements in the transparency and reporting features of the plan. However, the lawyers warned that the plan fails to recognize the magnitude and true costs of climate impacts in BC.
BC municipalities must Sue Big Oil to fight climate change: new campaign
VANCOUVER, BC/Musqueam, Squamish & Tsleil-Waututh Territories – The Sue Big Oil Campaign launches today with a call on BC local governments to do more to protect their communities from heat waves, wildfires, flooding and other climate impacts, including by suing the fossil fuel companies most responsible.
WCEL Submission on BC's Draft Offset Protocol Policy
In early 2022, the BC government sought input on its Draft Offset Protocol Policy ("Draft OPP"), which outlines the government's proposed plans for oversight of new market-based projects aimed at reducing and removing greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. This submission by West Coast Environmental Law lays out our concerns about the Draft OPP and the lack of meaningful criteria included in the policy for developing and reviewing carbon offsets in BC.
Lawyers warn of carbon-capture subsidies in Budget 2022
xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) & səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Territories/VANCOUVER
West Coast Environmental Law Association issued the following statement regarding Budget 2022:
The federal government’s Budget 2022 makes a lot of money available for some high-tech solutions to climate change, without recognizing the limited role that science says they should play in addressing the climate crisis, say the authors of a recent report on Negative Emissions Technologies.
Net Zero or Net Reckless? – What is the appropriate role for negative emissions technologies in meeting Canada's climate targets?
West Coast is pleased to announce the launch of our latest report, “Net Zero or Net Reckless? What is the appropriate role for negative emissions technologies in meeting Canada's climate targets?”
Net Zero or Net Reckless? What is the appropriate role for negative emissions technologies in meeting Canada’s climate targets?
NETs are technologies that remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and permanently store it, resulting in the net removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. NETs could potentially have a valuable role in restoring the health of the atmosphere and ‘neutralizing’ emissions associated with essential goods or services for which there is no realistic carbon-free substitute; however, given the risks and limitations of NETs, government regulation should take a cautious approach.
Why we need a law to keep oil and gas emissions from wrecking Canadian climate targets
For decades, Canadians across different sectors of the economy have been working to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. From agriculture to construction, to our household carbon footprints, people in Canada are ready to do their part for the climate – and now it is Big Oil’s turn.