LNG not the climate change solution B.C. promises: report

VANCOUVER—A report from the Pembina Institute pokes holes in the British Columbia government’s claim that exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the greatest single step the province can take to fight climate change.

The B.C. government has claimed that shipping LNG from B.C. to Asia would help cut the use of coal, which emits higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

But the report says only strong climate change policies will limit the output of emissions, and without those policies, the use of coal and natural gas will both increase over the next few decades.

Report co-author Matt Horne says the solution to climate change isn’t about using more natural gas, it’s about reducing coal use.

The report makes three recommendations to the provincial government including applying an evidence-based approach to assessing environmental impacts of energy exports and improving provincial efforts to reduce carbon pollution.

Tom Pedersen, from the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, which commissioned the report, says its imperative that the global community bring in policies that limit the worst impacts of climate change.