Climate Change polices ramping up as a key BC election theme for 2024

We may not be quite on the cusp of an election just yet, but when we do go to the polls on October 19th, 2024 it seems likely that one of the battlegrounds will be the conflicting views between the governing NDP and everyone else on climate change themes.

At their BC NDP convention this past weekend, Premier David Eby went agains the current mood in the rest of Canada suggesting BC will not waver from its carbon reduction plans, including the Carbon Tax.

Eby's government is taking heat from all directions on their policy, for the Greens it's a lack of focus on eliminating fracking and LNG development; while the BC Conservatives and BC United both suggest that the NDP policies are having too large an impact on the day to day life of British Columbians.

Monday, one of the fist salvos for the BC United approach came from Skeena MLA Ellis Ross.

Mr. Ross spoke to the NDP policies as part of Private members statements and as he has often in the past, his focus was on how BC should embrace LNG development, noting of ongoing work from the Haisla Nation and Nisga'a Nation towards those concepts.

In a world dealing with the need to cut down on carbon emissions while also ensuring the energy and economic requirements of the nations, LNG — liquid natural gas — projects stand out as a strong alternative. 

We here in B.C. did not fully seize our opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to delivering a reliable source of clean and ethical energy to those countries who really need it. 

But I firmly believe, as I did 19 years ago when we, as Haisla, brought the LNG initiative to B.C.,  we can be at the forefront of this global movement towards cleaner energy if we make the right decisions now. 

Countries worldwide are seeking safe transitional fuels to navigate the complex challenges of the ongoing energy crisis. 

Now, more than ever, B.C. has an opportunity to fully participate in this transition by investing in infrastructure and approving proposals that offer a viable alternative in the form of LNG. 

LNG remains as a crucial energy alternative for jurisdictions who want to move towards a carbon-neutral future.

The Skeena MLA also observed of the push for Global reduction and how he sees Canadian LNG development as helping towards that goal.

So I agree that there is a global challenge, but the keyword is "global." What are we doing to ensure that clean, ethical LNG comes from B.C. to those countries that truly need it, that can't access clean energy? 

We haven't done much. A lot of what we're doing now is playing catch-up. United States has beaten us to the punch even though we started well before them — and Australia, Saudi Arabia. 

All we've got is one half of one project to provide a clean, ethical energy source to places like Japan and China. 

And that's all we've got. Given our capacity, our massive natural gas resources in the Peace that we can't access …. We can't get the tidewater because of so many regulations, policies and legislation that restrict us. 

There is a moral commitment to help out countries like Japan and China, because regardless of what we do, they're going to get energy, whether it be coal, diesel or any other kind of dirty fuel. 

We're sitting on top of massive LNG reserves, but for one reason or another, we don't want to talk about how we get these massive gas reserves to Asia. Japan came here begging for an LNG agreement. They left with nothing.

Ross also noted of a proposal to ship alternative energy sources from Alberta out of the port of Prince Rupert and how that could also aid in reducing global emissions.

Right now we've got a proposal coming from Alberta, of all places — Alberta — to ship ammonia from Alberta to Prince Rupert to export to Japan. 

Because Japan is shifting towards using ammonia as an energy source, as a low-emission energy source. 

And the only thing we need now is two levels of government to indemnify the railway line in the same manner that you indemnify oil and gas products being shipped by rail. 

That's all we'd really need. 

The world is actually transitioning to cleaner fuels in their transition to an emissions-free future. 

Here in B.C. we are failing, and it's intentional. We are intentionally failing, and we've got to change that. 

And this is why I urge the House to truly consider our role in reducing global emissions.

The Skeena MLA has posted the full presentation to the House to his Social Media stream.

More notes from the Legislature can be reviewed here.

Items of interest from the Legislature from the provincial media streams can be reviewed through our Victoria Viewpoints feature on our political blog D'Arcy McGee.