Good news! Squamish does not support an extension for Woodfibre LNG
May 14, 2020
Tracey Saxby
Comparing greenhouse gas emissions for the entire community of Squamish in 2017, with the projected local greenhouse gas emissions that Woodfibre LNG and the FortisBC compressor station will emit every year. Note that this doesn't include upstream emissions from fracking, emissions from shipping, or the emissions when the LNG is burned at the final point of combustion. These are local emissions only. References below.
When I heard the news I danced around my house, and then I promptly burst into tears. But these were the good kind of tears: filled with relief and gratitude.
I was crying because the District of Squamish passed a motion in a 4-3 vote stating that:
"...the District of Squamish does not support an extension of the Environmental Certificate for Woodfibre LNG unless the extension includes a condition that Woodfibre LNG must meet the IPCC targets for its operation within the District of Squamish to reduce its GHG emissions by 45% by 2030 and 100% by 2050."
WATCH THE MAY 12th COUNCIL MEETING HERE (see Item 3vi)
READ THE SQUAMISH CHIEF ARTICLE
This is huge! But it's not guaranteed. Because this motion was passed at a Committee of the Whole meeting, it still needs to be ratified by council at next Tuesday's Regular Business meeting.
It took a lot of courage for council to support this motion. Will you email council and thank them for highlighting the local climate impacts of Woodfibre LNG? They need to hear from you so that they will ratify this motion at Tuesday's meeting.
Say thank you! Send an email to: council@squamish.ca
Be kind and respectful. Keep it short and sweet. You can address it to:
Dear Mayor and Council, ...
*********
Spring update on Woodfibre LNG
For those that want a more detailed update, here's what we've been up to. Prepare to geek out with us!
- On 30th April 2020, Ecojustice sent a letter to the BC EAO asking for clarity on the process to review Woodfibre LNG's application to extend their environmental assessment certificate, and to ask that My Sea to Sky be allowed to provide input. We also objected that the BC EAO had accepted Woodfibre LNG's application two months late, ignoring their own guidance policy!
- We then forwarded the Ecojustice letter to local government members of the Technical Working Group that are responsible for reviewing Woodfibre LNG's extension application. That was when we discovered that the BC EAO had failed to notify many of the original members of the Technical Working Group. Our email was the first time that many local governments had heard about Woodfibre LNG's request to extend its environmental assessment certificate. We will be writing a separate letter to Minister Heyman to document that.
- On 8th May 2020, we submitted a 29-page report to local governments, reviewing Woodfibre LNG’s extension application, and asked them to incorporate our concerns into their response to the BC EAO as members of the Technical Working Group. We did this because there is no public engagement as the BC EAO decides whether or not to grant Woodfibre LNG an extension for its highly contentious project. That's a big problem.
We do not believe that Woodfibre LNG should receive an extension to their environmental assessment certificate due to changes in economic context; changes to local, provincial, and federal policies; new and emerging scientific understanding; and the implications of developing new fossil fuel infrastructure in a climate emergency. The world has changed a lot in the last five years since the original certificate was granted.
We will be in touch soon with more actions you can take to help us #StopWoodfibreLNG for good!
With hope,
Tracey
Executive Director, My Sea to Sky
REFERENCES:
- 2017 emissions inventory for Squamish = 95,420 tonnes of CO2-equivalent
District of Squamish (2020) Emissions inventory and "do nothing" scenario. Website accessed 2020-05-14. - Woodfibre LNG = 142,100 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year
Woodfibre LNG (2015) Application for an Environmental Assessment Certificate, Section 5.3 Greenhouse Gas Management. Page 5.3-38. - FortisBC = 26,760 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year
FortisBC (2015) Addendum to the Application for an Environmental Assessment Certificate for the proposed FortisBC Energy Inc. Eagle Mountain - Woodfibre Pipeline Project. Addendum 3. September 2015. Page 16.
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