February 2015 BC LNG REALITY

 Three large LNG export plants will be operational by  Construction, operation, and the “induced employment” of an LNG industry will create 100,000 jobs.  The BC provincial debt will be eliminated by 2050 through the establishment of a $30 billion LNG “Prosperity Fund”.  There will be “world class” environmental standards for LNG development. THESE PROMISES WON THE BC LIBERALS A MAJORITY GOVERNMENT IN 2013:

 18 LNG export facilities proposed, 17 of them on the BC north coast  4 facilities have received (or do not need) regulatory approval  5 large-volume natural gas pipelines proposed, 4 approved  Not a single LNG plant has committed to construction.  After much lobbying by industry, the BC government pegged the LNG export tax at 7 percent. THE PICTURE, TWO YEARS LATER:

MORE OF THE THE PICTURE, TWO YEARS LATER:  Companies can deduct all capital costs before paying the 7 percent LNG tax, so any cost over-runs will be paid for by reduced taxes.  Independent estimates for temporary and permanent employment if three plants are built indicate a maximum of 72,200 jobs, with only 300 permanent jobs at each LNG plant when operational.  The BC and federal governments have entered into Temporary Foreign Worker agreements to supply LNG labour.  Independent forecasts show a high-end for the Prosperity Fund of $30 billion if FIVE large LNG facilities were built by 2023 and operated for 30 years, shipping LNG at double today’s price.

 Each large LNG plant would add emissions equivalent to two cities the size of Vancouver to BC’s greenhouse gas footprint.  BC’s LNG industry would create carbon emissions equivalent to 73 percent of those from the Alberta tar sands.  BC will not be able to meet the requirements of the Greenhouse Gas Reductions Targets Act if LNG goes ahead. WHAT THE BC GOVERNMENT ISN’T SAYING ABOUT LNG:

MORE OF WHAT THE BC GOVERNMENT ISN’T SAYING ABOUT LNG:  In its “world class” environmental approach, the BC government excludes “upstream” and “downstream” emissions (fracking, pipeline leaks, compressor stations, offsite power generation, combustion) from its accounting of LNG emissions.  The Site C Dam ($8.775 billion), approved supposedly to help supply the power needs of the LNG industry, will not even supply enough power for one large LNG plant.  When all emissions connected with its use are included, “natural gas” is a dirtier fuel than coal. AND BC continues to export thermal coal to Asia.

 Each LNG export facility would cost between $20 billion and $40 billion.  The capacity of LNG plants proposed for BC and the US exceeds forecast global demand by 50 percent. Other countries (Australia, Quatar, Nigeria) already have projects under construction that would meet the forecast demand. MORE FINE PRINT:

AND MORE FINE PRINT:  LNG pricing is tied to oil. LNG in BC has become uneconomic, due a potential export price that exceeds production costs.  Yet the BC government still states that 3 LNG export facilities will be operational by It is attempting to fast-track the only southerly proposal, Woodfibre LNG, Howe Sound, against solid public resistance.  Because, if the BC government fails to establish an LNG industry by election day, May 9, 2017…..

So, tactics have become desperate.

 The BC government and industry are buying First Nations agreement to support LNG pipelines and export facilities: $131 million has been pledged to the Wet’suwet’en First Nation in three agreements.  Sixteen such agreements have been made for the Pacific Trails Pipeline.  Each of the 5 large-volume pipelines proposed will probably see equivalent expenditures of taxpayer and industry money to garner First Nations approvals.

The BC government and industry are pitting willing band councils (elected First Nations representatives) against some Hereditary Chiefs who oppose LNG, using money to sway the argument. This is an intentional, divisive tactic. This is simply another version of colonial exploitation. Opinion: If the offer to financially help First Nations was sincere, it would not be tied to an industry on which a government’s credibility rides. It would be offered solely because of a justified need.

How will this play out where Hereditary Chiefs who oppose LNG and oil export pipelines have constructed resistance camps on pipeline routes?

Madii Lii Camp, Suskwa Valley, route of Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Project

Unist’ot’en Camp, on the route of four pipelines: Enbridge Northern Gateway, Pacific Trails, Coastal Gas Link, PNG Looping

Unist’ot’en Camp

Approved pipelines and prospective LNG plants have become saleable commodities, with shares changing hands as corporations turn profits without committing to construction. This is akin to the mining industry, where reports of rich ore holdings are used to drive up company share value and gain more capital investment. This underpins a boom and bust economy where concern for the environment is minimalized (reduced legislation, reduced oversight), and where societal concerns are also dismissed.

All of the major LNG players are foreign-owned corporations. All have lobbied for and now benefit from changes to Canadian economic and environmental laws, courtesy of the “omnibus bills” of the Stephen Harper government.

Some of these companies (Royal Dutch Shell, Petronas, PetroChina) have atrocious human rights records in their dealings with indigenous peoples elsewhere in the world (Nigeria, Malaysia, Sudan), including murder and land use tactics that have been described as “environmental genocide.” We are welcoming these and other companies onto Canadian soil to do as they will. Canadian laws no longer protect us, our land, our air, our water. They protect industry.

THIS IS THE REALITY OF BC LNG.