B.C.’s government should look for stronger climate policy globally, report says

British Columbia’s liquefied natural gas strategy won’t help the problem of global climate change in the absence of stronger policies internationally that limit carbon pollution, new report says.

The study was commissioned by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) and was researched and written by the Pembina Institute.

“Given the climate policies currently in place globally, the B.C. government’s claim that LNG will necessarily displace coal use is inaccurate. By considering coal and gas in isolation, the claim ignores the broader mix of competing energy sources,” the report says.

Without stronger policies that limit carbon, the study finds demand for coal, oil and natural gas continues to increase, pushing the world toward dangerous climate change.

“Natural gas is often described as a bridge fuel. The question is, how long should that bridge be?” says Josha MacNab, B.C. Regional Director for the Pembina Institute. “Our research suggests it must be very short if we’re going to be able to get off the bridge in time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.”

The report notes that the policies required to give the world a reasonable chance of avoiding dangerous climate change — commonly held as being less than 2°C of global warming — would cause three main shifts in the global energy mix:

• less demand for all fossil fuels relative to business as usual;
• less overall energy demand because of better energy efficiency, and
• more demand for renewable and nuclear energy.

Such policies would see a slight increase in natural gas in the short-term, peaking around 2030. Gas use then falls below current levels by mid-century due to a drop in overall fossil fuel demand.

“The B.C. government is missing a key point when it comes to recognizing the value of LNG in fighting climate change,” says Matt Horne, B.C. Associate Regional Director for the Pembina Institute. “Without a global push for low carbon energy sources and efficiency, LNG will likely worsen rather than ease global warming.”

The authors of the report make three recommendations for the B.C. government:

• apply a consistent, evidence-based approach to assessing the environmental impacts and economic resiliency of all energy exports,
• improve domestic efforts to reduce carbon pollution from natural gas development, and
• play an increasingly proactive role in encouraging stronger climate policy and better methane management globally.

“The science is clear that we need to stay within two degrees of warming to avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” says Tom Pedersen, Executive Director of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions. “It is imperative that the global community implement the kinds of policies we need to stay within this limit and that will mean that the role for natural gas is reduced.”

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Press Release; Image: Pembina Institute