John-Horgan-BC-Emissions-Inventory.jpg

B.C. Quietly Releases Emissions Update That Shows It’ll Blow 2020 Climate Target

Figures in a B.C. greenhouse gas inventory released quietly before Christmas show emissions have risen for four of the last five years.

Previously the province released a full public report on emissions, including inventory methodology, every two years but in December the government released a excel spreadsheet simply listing emissions figures for the second year in a row. The spreadsheet was published without any formal announcement or news release.

By law the province is required to reduce emissions 80 per cent from 2007 levels by 2050. In 2008 the province created a benchmark within that reduction, committing to get to 33 per cent reductions by 2020.

But the new figures show B.C. is not on course to meet that 2020 target. Instead emissions are only 2.1 per cent lower than the baseline year of 2007 and are on the rise.

The government needs to take drastic steps if there is any hope of meeting targets designed to keep global warming below two degrees, Jens Wieting of Sierra Club B.C. told DeSmog Canada, adding it is distressing the emissions inventory was updated without a public announcement.

"Why is it an environmental organization that has to put out a press release telling the public this information is now available?" Wieting said.

Wieting said robust reports are needed to help decision makers effectively work to reduce the province's emissions adding this was the first time in 10 years the government has released only excel files. 

"We should be informed by more detailed not more superficial information," he said. “What we have seen in B.C. for years is noble rhetoric about the need to confront climate change, but a lack of meaningful action.”

“We have not heard from the B.C. government how serious this is and that we are not close to meeting our reduction targets,” Wieting told DeSmog Canada.

A decade after B.C. committed to its 2020 target the province is essentially in the same place, Wieting said.

The government is planning to introduce a legislated target of a 40 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy told DeSmog Canada. The province will introduce targets and plans for the industry and transportation sectors, including helping emissions-intensive industries reduce emissions while remaining competitive.

“Underscoring these actions is the appointment of the new Climate Solutions and Clean Growth Advisory Council, which is advising government on how to achieve our climate objectives efficiently and effectively while growing our clean economy,” the spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.

Natural Gas Industry, Fracking Under Emissions Scrutiny

Sierra Club B.C. is calling for decisive changes in the way the province deals with greenhouse gas emissions, including a public inquiry into the impacts of hydraulic fracturing — often referred to as fracking — which annually releases 118,000 tonnes of methane, a greenhouse gas 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

The province has promised a review of fracking, a process used to extract natural gas, but a coalition of community, First Nations and environmental groups wants it broadened to a full public inquiry.

“If we increase fracking we can’t make any further progress,” said Wieting, who is concerned that Premier John Horgan is heading to Asia on a trade mission later this month without committing to delivering a clear message that new liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other fossil fuel projects would compromise B.C.’s efforts to meet emissions targets.

“People are making changes in their lives. There are bike lanes and public transit, but all that will be overshadowed by new industrial development,” Wieting said.

B.C. has a history of considering projects, like the Pacific Northwest LNG facility, that would make it impossible to meet climate targets. The climate impacts of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline project were not considered by the provincial or federal governments during the project’s environmental assessment.

Sierra Club B.C. is recommending that all major industrial projects undergo a climate test, including a carbon footprint breakdown, as part of the environmental assessment process.

B.C. Emissions Reporting in Need of Overhaul

There should also be changes to the way in which the province releases emissions data, Wieting said.

Previously, a detailed report was released every second year, but, for the last two years, the information has come through a spreadsheet that no longer shows emissions related to logging.

Emissions from slash burning — a process used to eliminate wood debris in logging operations — are shown as being ‘under review’ and not available. Slash burning would have accounted for 13 per cent of B.C.’s total emissions in 2013, according to previous government inventories. That’s the equivalent of over 1.7 million cars on the road for one year.

However, despite their significance, forest emissions are not included in the official provincial count.

A practical solution would be to protect old-growth tracts of forest that store large amounts of carbon while ending the practice of slash burning, Wieting said.

Image: B.C. Premier John Horgan. Photo: Province of B.C. via Flickr

Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.

And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.

In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”

As the year draws to a close, we’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?
Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.

And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.

In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”

As the year draws to a close, we’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?

B.C. government aims to permanently protect Fairy Creek

Get the inside scoop on The Narwhal’s environment and climate reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. After a tense election campaign in British...

Continue reading

Recent Posts

Our newsletter subscribers are the first to find out when we break a big story. Sign up for free →
An illustration, in yellow, of a computer, with an open envelope inside it with letter reading 'Breaking news.'
Cartoon title: Risks of reading The Narwhal. Illustration of a woman sitting with a computer that has a Narwhal sticker on a park bench. A narwhal sitting next to her reads her computer screen over the shoulder. Text reads: "Wait — the government did WHAT?"
More than 800 readers have already stepped up in December to support our investigative journalism. Will you help us break big stories in 2025 by making a donation this holiday season?
Every new member between now and midnight Friday will have their contributions doubled by two generous donors.
Let’s match
Every new member between now and midnight Friday will have their contributions doubled by two generous donors.
Let’s match
Cartoon title: Risks of reading The Narwhal. Illustration of a woman sitting with a computer that has a Narwhal sticker on a park bench. A narwhal sitting next to her reads her computer screen over the shoulder. Text reads: "Wait — the government did WHAT?"
More than 800 readers have already stepped up in December to support our investigative journalism. Will you help us break big stories in 2025 by making a donation this holiday season?