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Tag Archive for: LNG

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Draft framework outlines paradigm-shift for biodiversity and at-risk ecosystems across BC

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 15, 2023

Interim measures needed as quickly as possible to prevent further industrial degradation of critical habitat

VANCOUVER/UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES – The B.C. government has reached a preliminary milestone in developing a draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health framework released for public comment today.  

The draft framework outlines the purpose, principles, and foundation to achieve the paradigm shift described in the 2020 Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR); specifically, recommendation 2, which called for the conservation of ecosystem health and biodiversity of forests in B.C. to be declared an “overarching priority” and legislation that “legally establishes this priority for all sectors.” 

This paradigm shift is needed because the existing patchwork of laws fails to protect species-at-risk habitats and at-risk ecosystems like old-growth forests from industrial destruction and degradation. 

Sierra Club BC welcomes the draft framework but cautions that immediate interim measures are needed to stop the ongoing loss of at-risk habitat and ecosystems while work on legislation co-developed with First Nations continues.   

“We are pleased that the draft framework reflects the B.C. government’s commitment to make biodiversity and ecosystem health a priority for all sectors through legislation. At-risk species and ecosystems are under constant pressure, and some are at the very brink of extinction.  A paradigm shift in ecosystem management is critical for their protection and recovery and can’t happen soon enough,” said Shelley Luce, Campaigns Director at Sierra Club BC.      

The draft framework highlights goals of achieving healthy ecosystems, advanced reconciliation, effective stewardship and resilient communities and economies. It also refers to interim measures that should be included in the implementation plan. However, interim measures are not yet tied to at-risk ecosystems and habitat, and there are no timelines for implementation in the draft framework. 

Importantly, the draft highlights Ecosystem-based management (EBM), an approach to achieve ecological integrity and human well-being used in the Great Bear Rainforest region. EBM requires targets that ensure all ecosystems, including big-tree old-growth forests, are adequately protected in a representative manner.    

“The draft framework combined with immediate interim measures holds promise to achieve change on the ground across the province in early 2024. From at-risk old growth to Caribou and Spotted Owl habitat, every month matters to safeguard the web of life and a stable climate for future generations,” said Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner at Sierra Club BC. “Timely implementation will be crucial to ensure new Forest Landscape Plans reflect biodiversity as an overarching priority and existing Forest Stewardship Plans can be amended as quickly as possible.”  

People in B.C. have until January 15th, 2024, to provide input and commentary to strengthen the framework. Sierra Club BC will develop feedback and share input with the B.C. government to strengthen the draft framework and inform the implementation plan. We encourage people in B.C. to do the same.   

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Additional background:

highlighted huge legal gaps driving species extinction and extirpation in B.C. The report, written by biologist Jared Hobbs, found that the federal species-at-risk law alone is not enough to protect species in B.C., as the current provincial legal framework for species-at-risk protection relies on a patchwork of laws that fail to address all threats driving species decline. 

Read the report here. 

 

Media contacts:

Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner/Science Advisor, Sierra Club BC
jens@sierraclub.bc.ca or (604) 354-5312

Shelley Luce, Campaigns Director, Sierra Club BC
shelley@sierraclub.bc.ca

 

Featured image by Dayn Craig.

Sierra Club BC welcomes provincial conservation financing announcement

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 26, 2023

B.C. Conservation financing mechanism is a ray of hope for lasting old growth protection.

Sierra Club BC welcomes today’s announcement of a historic conservation financing mechanism consisting of a $150 million investment from B.C. matched by a BC Parks Foundation commitment to raise $150 million, for a total of $300 million in financing.  

The funding is the biggest step yet towards meeting the provincial goal to protect 30 percent of lands with high conservation values in B.C. by 2030, in particular at-risk old-growth forests. Applied effectively, it will support the implementation of B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. It could also fund the establishment of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), other protected area designations, and the development of new, sustainable businesses to support healthy communities and intact forests. 

“This is the beginning of a huge shift toward conserving our most endangered forests and reaching the goal of protecting 30 percent of land in B.C. by 2030. Seven years from now, people in B.C. could be looking back and celebrating this crucial milestone towards conservation, a stable climate and reconciliation,” said Shelley Luce, Sierra Club BC’s Director of Campaigns. “With this announcement, Premier Eby’s leadership is enabling greater investments in conserving forests and creating new economic activities to replace the industrial clear-cut logging that has decimated our forests.” 

The new funding, combined with the expected Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health framework, a Nature Agreement with the federal government and First Nations organizations, and an updated action plan for implementation of the Old-Growth Strategic Review (OGSR) advances the B.C. government’s promise to accelerate action for old growth protection.  

“We are optimistic that today’s announcement of $300 million in funding will be a major turning point in the efforts to safeguard the web of life we depend on. Halting the biodiversity and climate crises is a titanic challenge, but there are few places on the planet that could contribute more to solving these crises than this province,” said Jens Wieting, Sierra Club BC’s Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner.  

The creation of the conservation mechanism follows years of relentless activism and calls for action on old growth, especially for conservation financing, from countless groups and individuals across B.C. Polling commissioned by Sierra Club BC in 2021 showed 85 percent of people in the province support old growth protection.      

“We are hopeful that all involved in this new chapter will seek to ensure the most effective use of the new funding by prioritizing protection of the most endangered ecosystems and species at-risk habitat, and establishing IPCAs that result in permanent protection from industrial threats,” added Wieting.     

The new conservation financing mechanism is similar to the approach developed as part of the 2006 Great Bear Rainforest Agreements. That $120 million dollar fund was tied to the creation of more than 100 new protected areas totaling about 1.7 million hectares that included representation of the full range of ecosystems in this region, like low elevation old-growth rainforest.  The mechanism also resulted in a new protected area designation called conservancy, which was co-developed with First Nations.

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Additional background:

Meeting the 30 x 30 goal will require doubling the total area in protected areas in B.C. that meet international standards (defined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature). In recent years the total area in protected areas that meet these standards stood at 15.5 percent.   

The data and mapping developed by the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) and endorsed by the B.C. government in 2021 show that old-growth forests cover 11.1 million hectares (less than 20 percent of B.C.’s total forest area). According to the TAP data, about two-thirds of the remaining old-growth (7.6 million hectares) have been identified as at-risk old-growth forests. Of those 7.6 million hectares, two-thirds (5 million hectares) are unprotected. And of those unprotected at-risk stands, a little more than half (2.6 million hectares) is recommended for deferrals. Currently, less than half of these most at risk old-growth forests have been deferred from logging.  

Media contacts:

Shelley Luce, Campaigns Director, Sierra Club BC
shelley@sierraclub.bc.ca

Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner/Science Advisor, Sierra Club BC
jens@sierraclub.bc.ca or (604) 354-5312

 

Sierra Club BC reacts to the recent and ongoing RCMP violence in Wet’suwet’en territory

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 23, 2021

Sierra Club BC Climate Justice Campaigner Anjali Appadurai offers the following statement in response to the RCMP raid on Wet’suwet’en Territory during a provincial state of emergency.

“Sierra Club BC condemns the recent and ongoing RCMP violence in Wet’suwet’en territory. These actions are in violation of Wet’suwet’en and Canadian law, are a wasteful use of resources in the middle of a widespread state of emergency, and represent a failure of provincial leadership to advance reconciliation and climate action.

“B.C. has suffered a devastating string of climate change impacts in the span of a few months. The deep human, economic and ecological damage from these climate events underscore the need for urgent, emergency-level climate action, which must begin with an immediate move away from fossil fuels in the province. Instead, it’s been incredibly demoralizing to watch precious resources deployed not to provide urgent relief to flood victims, but rather to attack land defenders and protect the interests of a pipeline company on unceded Indigenous lands.

“The Province has made a specific policy choice to prioritize the enforcement of Coastal GasLink’s injunction over a true application of the 1997 Delgamuukw decision that granted Wet’suwet’en Peoples rights and title to their lands. They made another specific policy choice to deploy RCMP and provincial resources to remove Indigenous land defenders during an acutely devastating extreme weather event. This failure of leadership is underscored by the failure of B.C.’s climate plan to meaningfully address the scale of climate action needed in this province in order to meet the scale of the crisis.

“The climate emergency has reached B.C., and we need leadership that is able to make the rapid economic re-prioritization that will enable us to put lives and livelihoods before corporate profits. The fossil fuel industry has a deep hold on our political leadership and our economy, but this is a matter of political will. Real climate action in B.C. is still possible if our leadership acts with courage and urgency to end fossil fuel subsidies and uphold Indigenous rights. We must urgently move to an understanding of climate action that recognizes the link between colonization, the erasure of Indigenous knowledge, and the destructive nature of extractive industries. Only by prioritizing Indigenous sovereignty and title to land can we begin to approach sufficiently transformative climate action.

“British Columbians have had their eyes opened to the realities of the intersecting crises we face, from the distress of the pandemic to the devastation of the heat dome, fires, floods and extreme weather events of the past few months. Despite the colonial structures that seek to legitimize unacceptable levels of resource extraction in a time of climate emergency, Indigenous land defenders are protecting the best interests of people, the living beings we share this land with, and the planet. Our provincial leadership may soon find themselves lagging behind their constituents when it comes to understanding the speed and scale of action needed to tackle the climate crisis, and recognizing that Indigenous land defenders are providing the leadership that the provincial government is currently lacking.”

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Additional background:

Sierra Club BC is one of more than 240 diverse organizations and businesses that have signed an open letter calling on the B.C. government to confront the climate emergency and undertake ten urgent climate actions.

Media contact:

Anjali Appadurai, Climate Justice Campaigner | Sierra Club BC
Anjali@sierraclub.bc.ca, 604-328-6443

 

Social share photo by Leila Darwish

Sierra Club BC reacts to BC government’s ‘Roadmap to 2030’ CleanBC announcement

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

October 25, 2021

Sierra Club BC Climate Justice Campaigner Anjali Appadurai offers the following statement in response to today’s updated CleanBC plan announcement, Roadmap to 2030.

“Sierra Club BC welcomes today’s Roadmap to 2030 announcement, but we maintain that the agreement does not provide the level of ambition and detail needed to ensure that B.C.’s 2030 targets are met or exceeded.

“While the Roadmap outlines strong steps to tackle emissions from transportation and buildings, key issues that remain unaddressed include fossil fuel subsidies, uncounted forest emissions, and fracked LNG.

“We are disappointed that today’s announcement offered no clarity on when the province will end fossil fuel subsidies and financial incentives, which would ensure that those industries that profit from fossil fuel pollution pay their fair share of the resulting climate damage.

“Additionally, uncounted forest emissions are much higher than officially reported emissions, yet they remain largely ignored. We note the significant omission from the Roadmap to 2030 of a clear path to reduce the staggering emissions caused by clearcut logging.

“For example, the Roadmap calls for an end to slash burning, but not until 2030. Allowing this practice to continue another nine years is a clear indicator that this government is not grasping how little time is left to avoid climate breakdown.

“There was also no information provided on how the province will ensure emissions increase from building LNG terminals and expanding fracking will be kept below a certain level. The provincial government claims they will not allow emissions from the sector to impact the ability to meet its targets but there is no cap for LNG production or other binding mechanisms.

“This means that some of the good steps the province is taking to reduce emissions in other sectors are at risk of being neutralized by emissions from fossil fuel extraction, production and export to other countries where they will cause even more emissions when burned and compete with renewable energy solutions.

“Of significant concern to us is that the Roadmap focuses mainly on 2030 targets, nine years away, and does not include binding targets and pathways to set or achieve milestones in the intervening years. B.C.’s emissions have increased every year from 2015 to 2019; this calls for immediate action to curb emissions in the short, medium and long term.

“Overall, we welcome the current effort but continue to push for a CleanBC plan that treats the climate crisis like an emergency, similar to the public health emergency that was the COVID-19 pandemic. A roadmap to 2030 with most policy milestones in 2030 and beyond would have been appropriate 10 or 20 years ago, but in the present day, it does not reflect the state of emergency that B.C. should recognize when it comes to climate change. B.C. is already experiencing climate-induced wildfires, smoke-filled skies, heat waves, extreme weather events and sea level rise. These and other impacts will get worse as climate change progresses.”

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Additional background:

Sierra Club BC is one of more than 240 diverse organizations and businesses that have signed an open letter calling on the B.C. government to confront the climate emergency and undertake ten urgent climate actions.

Read SCBC’s media release on uncounted forest emissions.


Media contact:

Anjali Appadurai, Climate Justice Campaigner | Sierra Club BC
Anjali@sierraclub.bc.ca, 604-328-6443

 

Photo by Leila Darwish

Organizations and concerned individuals stand in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en women urging Dr. Bonnie Henry to shut down industrial camps amid COVID-19 outbreaks

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

December 9, 2020

Organizations and concerned individuals have signed a letter addressed to Dr. Bonnie Henry urging B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer to listen to Wet’suwet’en women and support the health and safety of their communities by shutting down LNG Canada and Coastal GasLink facilities and work camps amid COVID-19 outbreaks.

As stated in the letter Wet’suwet’en women sent to Dr. Bonnie Henry on November 30, these work camps do not have the capacity to isolate all COVID-19 positive workers and often send some home to cohabitate with elders and other community members.

“As a result of ongoing colonialism and racism in the health care system, Indigenous peoples are at increased risk with COVID-19 due to underlying health concerns. The loss of elders and knowledge-keepers poses enormous intergenerational cultural impacts for these communities,” says the letter signed by multiple organizations and individuals.

“Keeping these work camps open only perpetuates the harm of colonization and puts economic gain ahead of the health and cultural wellbeing of these communities. Respectfully, we request that the B.C. government prioritize the health of Wet’suwet’en peoples and respect their ask to shut down work camps due to increasing COVID-19 concerns.”

You can read the full letter here. It has been signed by:

Sierra Club BC
Council of Canadians
My Sea to Sky
Wilderness Committee
Dr. Tim K. Takaro, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Charlene Aleck, Tsleil-Waututh Nation Sacred Trust Initiative
Christy Ferguson, Executive Director, Greenpeace Canada
Stand.earth
350.org
Watershed Sentinel Educational Society
RAVEN Trust
PIPE UP Network
Glasswaters Foundation
Center for Sustainable Economy
Gulf Islands Front Lines
Our Time Vancouver

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Read the Wet’suwet’en media advisory here

Read the Wet’suwet’en women’s letter to Dr. Bonnie Henry here

Read Sierra Club BC’s letter to Dr. Bonnie Henry here


Media contacts:

Jen Wickham | Gidimt’en Checkpoint Media Coordinator
778-210-0067

Sleydo’, Molly Wickham | Gidimt’en Checkpoint Spokesperson
yintahaccess@gmail.com

Hannah Askew | Sierra Club BC Executive Director
hannah@sierraclub.bc.ca

Tła̱lita’la̱s~Karissa Glendale | Sierra Club BC Forest Relations Coordinator
tlalitalas@sierraclub.bc.ca

Electrification of fracking and LNG will fuel climate change, not solve it

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Sierra Club BC released the following statement from campaigns director Caitlyn Vernon in response to today’s joint federal-provincial announcement about electrification of fracking and LNG:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 29, 2019

“Electrification of fracking and LNG is not effective climate action. It’s the opposite: it locks us into ongoing carbon pollution that will worsen the climate emergency, at a time when we have very few years to rapidly phase out the use of coal, oil and gas.

“Whatever gas is saved by electrifying fracking operations will still be burned when the gas is exported overseas. Today’s announcement has no net benefit for the climate. By facilitating the expansion of fracking, it will make things worse.

“Electrification of fracking keeps us on a path to more frequent extreme weather events, bigger, more destructive wildfires and less reliable supplies of food and clean drinking water.

“Our health and well-being will suffer more. Our children’s future will be further compromised.

“Sierra Club BC supports the provincial government’s CleanBC program. We agree that rapid electrification is at the core of an effective response to the climate crisis, but electrification must transition us away from the use and export of fossil fuels, not lock us into ongoing carbon pollution.

“The 2019 B.C. budget announced $107 million for cleaner transportation, and $58 million for improving the energy efficiency of buildings, creating good jobs in the process. Yet this investment pales in comparison to today’s announcement of $680 million in taxpayer dollars to support the fossil fuel industry whose carbon pollution threatens our health and security.

“Kids around the world have been taking to the streets calling for governments to defend them, their future, and the places they love from the threats posed by the climate emergency. ​And yet the day after Greta Thunberg arrives in North America on a sailboat, our governments are crushing the hopes of young people by subsidizing oil and gas corporations rather than investing in renewable energy solutions.

“The Amazon is burning. The Arctic is burning. Salmon are dying from the heat.

“We are in a climate emergency. For our children and grandchildren, we must rebuild an energy system based on renewable energy, not fossil fuels.”

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Media contact:

Caitlyn Vernon

Campaigns Director

Sierra Club BC

250-896-3500

caitlyn@sierraclub.bc.ca

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