Re: “LNG tax breaks blunt B.C. climate plan,” comment, May 12.
In his opinion piece, Marc Lee misses the most important point about liquefied natural gas from B.C. — that the world is looking to LNG to address two global crises: climate change and air pollution.
LNG from B.C. will have an emissions intensity that is less than half what other facilities around the world are at because of B.C.’s strict regulations and carbon tax.
With natural gas forecast to meet most of the increase in global energy demand in the future, LNG from B.C. can meet that demand with fewer emissions.
The World Health Organization attributes seven million deaths every year to polluted air, and natural gas has a fraction of the particulate matter of fuels such as coal and those such as wood and dung that millions of people around the world still rely on. Countries are turning to natural gas to provide their citizens with cleaner air.
With LNG, we are able to provide a resource that the world wants and add value to it by creating a new industry, providing British Columbians with a fair return for our natural-gas resource.
The LNG Canada project is the single largest private-sector investment in Canadian history, which will generate opportunities for generations of British Columbians and Canadians. According to the B.C. government’s Budget 2019 documents, the provincial gross domestic product forecast has increased substantially, primarily because of this investment.
The well-paying jobs and careers in B.C.’s LNG industry will transform many lives across the province, including real partnerships with First Nations for training, employment and contracting opportunities. The revenue the industry contributes to government for decades will be invested in schools, hospitals, roads and services across the province.
To have an LNG industry, B.C. LNG projects need to be able to be competitive globally. B.C. LNG projects cannot face extra costs that other projects around the world do not have to pay, or they won’t be built.
The world is demanding LNG, and that demand will be met.
If not from B.C., then from other jurisdictions that produce LNG with much higher emissions and less robust regulatory standards.
Climate change and air pollution are two pressing global challenges that we must act on, and building an LNG industry in B.C. is one of the ways we can help tackle those challenges right now.
Developing the world’s lowest-emission LNG while creating jobs and new revenue here in B.C. and helping to reduce global emissions puts us on a responsible path of global leadership.
Bryan Cox is the president and CEO of the B.C. LNG Alliance.
