The Pembina Institute sent the following letter concerning the Pacific NorthWest LNG project to Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna:
September 7, 2016
The Honourable Catherine McKenna, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Environment and Climate Change
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0A6
Re: Pacific NorthWest LNG’s carbon pollution under B.C.’s new climate plan
Dear Minister McKenna:
In light of the B.C. government’s recently released climate plan, we have revisited our analysis of the Pacific NorthWest (PNW) LNG project (“the Project”), with a focus on the carbon pollution from the terminal and its associated upstream development.
Based on this updated analysis, the carbon pollution from the Project and its associated upstream development will be in the range of 8.9–9.6 Mt CO2e in 2030. This will increase to 9.6–10.5 Mt CO2e by 2050 as shale gas wells mature and become less productive.
Ten million new tonnes of annual carbon pollution are significant in both the B.C. and Canadian contexts. These emissions would make the Project one of Canada’s largest sources of carbon pollution. They would stem from technologies that are in some cases 4.7 times more polluting than leading alternatives. They would make it virtually impossible for B.C. to achieve its 2050 climate target of 13 Mt CO2e.
It is for these reasons that the Pembina Institute recommends that the Environmental Certificate for the Project be rejected. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the analysis or our recommendation.
Sincerely,
Matt Horne
Associate B.C. Director, Pembina Institute
cc: The Honourable James Gordon Carr, P.C., M.P., Minister of Natural Resources
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
(Note: For further information, please see the footnotes and appendices in the full letter.)
