BC's Dirty Secret

Subject
Climate change, energy, fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions
Author
Andrew Gage, Staff Lawyer
Summary

BC's Dirty Secret explains that the Province of British Columbia, as the owner and regulator of oil, gas and coal reserves, shares legal responsibility for fossil fuel pollution caused when those products are burned, and is failing in its legal and ethical obligations to regulate the climate change impacts of that pollution. The report finds that greenhouse gas emissions caused by burning the oil, gas and coal extracted in the province (downstream emissions) are 2.7 times larger than the emissions that BC is currently reporting on, and are annually expected to cause more than $40 billion in economic losses, and contribute to tens of thousands of deaths, globally. Citing a growing body of international law and global jurisprudence, BC’s Dirty Secret lays out six recommendations the BC government should take to meet its minimum legal and ethical responsibilities with respect to its downstream fossil fuel emissions.

Publication Date
Publication Pages
32
Publication City
Vancouver
Publication Format
PDF