Climate and Energy

British Columbia has the potential to maintain both high levels of human well-being and our rich biodiversity, but sustaining these levels into the future means protecting the vital ecological life support systems upon which we and all species depend. And we need to act with urgency, because these life support systems are facing potentially dire threats from climate change and other cumulative ecological changes. In practical terms, it seems likely that we need to consider how we can better integrate our nature and climate action strategies.

This document outlines West Coast Environmental Law's (See document for all signatories to the submissions) comments and concerns related to the British Columbia Forest Carbon Offset Protocol, Final Draft for Public Review, November 22, 2010 (the “FCOP”). We recognize the leadership of the provincial government to date in taking action on many climate-related issues.

West Coast Environmental Law has reviewed the platforms of the BC Liberal Party, the BC NDP, and the BC Green Party on a number of key environmental issues. We have chosen to focus on party platforms as these are the commitments that the parties themselves have put forward for the voters to consider and allow a balanced comparison between incumbents and challengers. The parties were ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 for each area identified, using best practices recommended by West Coast as a benchmark for comparison.

On January 19, the federal Joint Review Panel released its decision on the List of Issues to be covered in the environmental assessment of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, and what additional information Enbridge must provide to the Panel.

This letter to the Ministry of the Environment provides our comments on the proposed Carbon Trading Regulations. While we applaud the BC government for taking a leadership role on seeking to reduce greenhouse gases, we are concerned that some aspects of the Regulations, as proposed, may undermine their  effectiveness.

Coal miners fear it because it is highly explosive,but in twenty years coalbed methane
(CBM) has gone from ‘complete obscurity’ to supplying 7% of the total US natural gas
production. Along the way it has generated a lot of public controversy.

In BC, the provincial government (the ‘Province’) is now aggressively pursuing CBM
investment. If the CBM industry responds, and some technical problems are solved, many communities across BC will experience the CBM industry first hand.

With the introduction of Bill 36, the BC Government is intending to double oil and gas production, reduce regulation, and reduce staff. This briefing paper provides an overview of the bill with particular regard to the impact the bill is likely to have on environmental protection measures.

Bill 36, the Energy and Mines Statutes Amendment Act, has ‘deregulated’ the oil and gas industry and weakened environmental protection measures that are currently in place for the oil and gas industry.

Climate change could have catastrophic effects globally and in BC, the Prairies and Canada's North. This paper discusses key issues related to oil and gas production/use and climate change, including the role of natural gas as a transitional, "clean energy" fuel, the impact of the Kyoto protocol on oil and gas production, and policy issues likely to arise with the progression of climate change.

The Kyoto climate protection agreement can be implemented without significant impacts on the Canadian economy. The federal government must now ratify the Kyoto agreement and define options that are effective in achieving long-term emission reductions, and are equitable.

British Columbia’s north coast oil tanker moratorium, covers the Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound – the waters between Alaska, Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island . The federal government used its authority over shipping to ban oil tankers in 1972, triggered by widespread concerns over oil spills. Coastal First Nations, the public and the provincial government believed the risks of oil spills from tankers servicing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline system were unacceptably high due to the treacherous nature of BC’s Inside Passage.