British Columbia

A news release from the First Nation’s Leadership Council last week suggested July could be the month when push comes to shove in the debate over the construction of the Peace River Site C dam.

It said the Treaty 8 First Nations had received notice from BC Hydro that as early as July 6 — five days prior to the tenth annual Paddle for the Peace protest event — construction work could begin at the project site.

Forests turn from carbon sink to carbon emitter because of pine beetle epidemic

B.C.’s forests experienced heavy carbon losses between 2003-2012, a dramatic change from the previous decade whey they were absorbing carbon, an analysis by the Sierra Club of B.C. shows.

The province’s forests emitted an estimated 256 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere between 2003 and 2012. In the previous 10-year period, they absorbed 441 million tonnes from the atmosphere, according to a report released this month by the environmental group.

CALGARY - A multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas project led by Royal Dutch Shell was given the environmental go-ahead on Wednesday, subject to dozens of conditions.

The LNG Canada project — planned for Kitimat — obtained the blessing of both the federal and British Columbia governments following a streamlined review process.

The federal government has decided the environmental impacts of the LNG Canada project are justified in the circumstances, Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq said in a release.

Opposition leader and NDP were supportive initially, but their concerns have increased as more details emerge.

VICTORIA — With the B.C. Liberals preparing to recall the legislature to approve a project development agreement for liquefied natural gas, Opposition leader John Horgan is signalling that the New Democrats will likely be voting no.

Photo: Kevin Washbrook of Votors Taking Action on Climate Change

Up to 120 LNG tankers a year could ply the south arm of the Fraser River after a U.S. company secured a licence to export LNG from a facility on Tilbury Island in Delta.

The National Energy Board of Canada approved the plan on May 7.

Opponents of a planned coal export terminal on the Fraser River are vowing to keep the fight going.

They made that clear June 2 at Port Metro Vancouver's annual general meeting, where Paula Williams, organizer for the group Communities and Coal, presented a petition opposing the plan by Fraser Surrey Docks to load coal onto ships in the river.

Last week, the Tseil-Waututh Nation announced in no uncertain terms that it was not supporting Kinder Morgan’s proposed expansion of its Trans Mountain Pipeline. And while the project has had more than its share of setbacks over the last year, the press release from the TWN – one that included supporting legal statements, an environmental assessment and the assertion of a de-facto veto – might represent the most serious one yet.

In one of the gloomiest forecasts yet for British Columbia’s nascent LNG sector, the International Energy Agency says prospects for export projects have ‘darkened’ and deferrals are likely.
 

In a five-year outlook on global demand for natural gas published Thursday, the Paris-based agency throws cold water on the B.C. government’s hopes of being home to three liquefied natural gas projects by 2020.

Up to 120 LNG tankers a year could ply the south arm of the Fraser River after a U.S. company secured a licence to export LNG from a facility on Tilbury Island in Delta.

The National Energy Board of Canada approved the plan on May 7.

“It’s the first I’ve heard of this,” said MP Fin Donnelly (New Westminster-Coquitlam-Port Moody), the NDP critic for West Coast fisheries and oceans.

A report that shows a widespread fallout zone for mine-waste storage facilities in northern and central B.C. has led to a call for more protection of watersheds, assurance that communities receive long-term benefits, and creation of a cleanup fund.

The survey being released today was commissioned by the B.C. First Nations Energy and Mining Council in the wake of Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley mine-waste dam failure last year.