Clean BC targets unrealistic, unachievable
Although the intention of the Clean Energy BC policy is fine, according to Kathleen Connolly, Fort St. John and District Chamber of Commerce CEO, it doesn’t align with the real world.
“There’s a feeling of frustration in that these are just not achievable targets.”
Connolly was in Vancouver recently, meeting with CAPP, Resource Works, Wood Fibre LNG, ICBA and others, to discuss the government’s policies, which essentially create an emissions cap for industry in BC. During her visit, she talked to everyone from cab drivers to the representatives of the groups mentioned and found that although people agree with the intention of Clean Energy BC, “the policies just don’t align with the real world, in terms of timelines and expectations.”
Take electrification for example. “By 2030 we’re supposed to be fully electrified in the northeast. That’s crazy. And on the back side of that, because government can’t get it together and accomplish that goal, they’re going to financially penalize the oil and gas industry because they can’t get electrified,” she said. There are a lot of facilities that are now solar-powered, such as Ovintiv, which has one fully electrified facility in the South Peace.
The petroleum industry has been working hard for a long time to be “clean”, reduce emissions, and be sensitive to environmental and sustainability concerns.
Companies have “been working diligently, trying to meet those standards, but government keeps changing the goal posts for these guys, and they never know at the end of the day where they stand.” Industry needs clear, reasonable timelines that they can meet.
Neither federal nor provincial targets are being hit. There is no real plan, Connolly says, just the government saying, “you’re going to achieve electrification by 2030”, and there won’t be any new gas-fired vehicles sold in BC by 2025.
“Instead of beating [industry] up, let’s work with them in a meaningful way to create achievable targets, instead of making timelines and targets that aren’t sensible,” she said.
Is government capable of pivoting to work with industry, businesses, and environmental groups, to come up with a working model that will help them achieve those targets?
“It’s more than just the timelines, there’s big gaps in these plans. Can we help to make a reasonable plan, with all of the partners? We know government doesn’t have a history of consulting with the industries that they’re impacting the most. Companies are asking government to come to the table and rework some of these plans – industry can help them achieve them, but they have to be all operating off the same plan.”
One of the problems is a lack of infrastructure. Where is the electricity going to come from, asked Connolly.
Car rental agencies at Vancouver Airport, according to Connolly, have fleets of EVs, but people aren’t asking for them when they rent a car. They’re just sitting there, because there is very little information about where to charge them, how long it takes to charge and so on.
“If we don’t have the basic infrastructure to hit those goals, we’re not going to hit them. How do we get that infrastructure in place, and who pays for it? The average British Columbian can’t afford it.”
Government needs to look at what people who are paying for these programs can actually afford. Is there a better path forward that isn’t so expensive, and is realistic and can help us achieve those targets?
“We aren’t going to build another Site C in six years. So where is BC Hydro going to find this electricity – we don’t have the infrastructure. Have those power sources been identified, is there a business plan – where is government in that process? Just leaving it up to industry to figure it out is irresponsible of government, they really need to be working hand-in-hand with industry.”
It’s not just big industry that’s being hit. Investment is down throughout the province. “How do you build out a business plan, encourage investment? That’s not just for industry, that’s for our contractors, that whole component of community that’s attached to resource development,” said Connolly.
“Is BC the right place to continue investing and can we get the work done that we want, with these aggressive timelines?”
British Columbia has enormous potential to help reduce world-wide emissions through exports of LNG. India, for example, which has extremely high smog counts, could benefit by using the cleanest, and most responsibly extracted natural gas and LNG in the world. But BC can’t help countries like India by killing our own industry.
“Government needs to find a balance in that conversation and recognize that we can help other countries. But we need to make sure we’re also sustaining our own economy, our own way of life, our own social programs, and our own industries. If we don’t do that, we can’t help anybody.”