(The first in a two-part series looking at how B.C.’s plan to lower climate-changing emissions is doing.)

CleanBC, the B.C. government’s plan to lower climate-changing emissions, has set a target of a 40% reduction by 2030.

However, B.C.’s annual emissions are currently 26% above 1990 levels and 2030 is only five years away. As new liquefied natural gas export projects like LNG Canada, Woodfibre LNG, and Cedar LNG come online, B.C.’s emissions will continue to increase, locking in climate pollution for decades and making it impossible for B.C. to achieve its climate targets.

A highly contentious aspect of BC’s climate strategy is the allocation of public funds to electrify the oil and gas sector. All BC Hydro ratepayers will effectively be subsidizing massive fossil fuel export projects, if, and when, LNG projects are provided with public power at discount rates.

Those subsidies have been justified as a means to reduce emissions from the high-polluting LNG industry. But they have sparked widespread criticism for perpetuating reliance on fossil fuel extraction. Electrifying the LNG industry will divert B.C.’s electricity resources away from other sectors like the electrification of buildings and transportation to “greenwash” fossil fuel extraction. Subsidizing electricity for LNG export projects prioritizes corporate profits over........

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