B.C. approves $3.2-billion Cedar LNG project, announces new emissions rules

The B.C. government has granted environmental approval to another coastal LNG facility, while announcing new emissions rules for the industry.

The approved Cedar LNG project, which has an estimated cost of $3.2 billion, is an electrified floating export facility in Kitimat that's being developed by the Haisla Nation, in partnership with the Pembina Pipeline Corporation. It has been described as the first LNG export facility in Canada that's majority Indigenous-owned.

"This is a significant milestone that honours our government's commitment to respect self-determination and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," B.C. Premier David Eby said at a news conference in Vancouver Tuesday.

"Already proposed to be one of the lowest-emitting facilities in the world, we will be working in partnership to further reduce the project's emissions."

Haisla Chief Councillor Crystal Smith fought back emotion as she talked about how the project could lead her nation to prosperity and secure a future for the next generations.

"Today's about changing the course of history," Smith said. "For my nation and Indigenous peoples everywhere in history, where Indigenous people were left on the sidelines of economic development in their territories, where Indigenous people's values were ignored in favor of economic gain impacting our environment and our way of life."

The NDP government's support for LNG projects has been a sore spot among environmental groups, including the David Suzuki Foundation, which has warned that the industry is set to become "the single biggest source of climate pollution in the province."

ENERGY ACTION FRAMEWORK

Along with the environmental approval of Cedar LNG – which comes with 16 legally enforceable conditions, some focused on mitigating environmental impacts – B.C. officials unveiled new measures Tuesday that are designed to cut down on industry emissions and help the province reach its climate targets.

Those measures include requirements for LNG facilities to pass an emissions test during the assessment process and have a "credible plan" to reach net zero emissions by 2030, Environment Minister George Heyman said. That applies only to facilities that have not already received environmental approval, which means Cedar LNG is exempt, although the premier explained the proponents of that project had entered into a memorandum of understanding with the government to achieve net zero.

In addition, the province is establishing a regulatory emissions cap for the oil and gas industry. Officials said the details are not yet available, but will be decided following consultations with First Nations, industry and labour groups, environmental organizations and other stakeholders.

Reaction to the new framework was mixed.

The David Suzuki Foundation called the measures " positive step," while also criticizing the government for approving the project, writing in a statement that "the world can’t afford continued expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure" and that "burning B.C. LNG makes climate change worse."

That sentiment echoed by the Wilderness Committee's Peter McCartney.

He told CTV News, "There is no standard, no regulation that makes it OK to approve a project that continues to export fossil fuels for decades to come."

The LNG-focused measures are part of a new energy action framework that builds upon the province's CleanBC plan, which has a goal of decreasing climate-changing emissions to 40 per cent below 2007 levels by 2030. The government's latest accountability report, released in November 2022, acknowledged the province is not on track to meet that goal.

Asked by CTV News if the new measures meant B.C. could achieve its targets, Eby said work still needs to continue in other sectors to get there.

The province has never hit an emissions target it has set.

The oil and gas industry, which is responsible for around 20 per cent of all emissions in the province, has a sector target of reaching 33 to 38 per cent below 2007 levels by 2030.