Encouraging news about the BC Climate Action Plan
From the Pembina Institute:
The most important sign of success is that B.C.’s climate policies appear to be reducing emissions. That’s the main message from a report released Wednesday by the B.C. government, Making Progress on B.C.’s Climate Action Plan. The province’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act requires the province to produce a report every two years assessing its progress towards its climate change objectives. Based on the most recent data available, B.C.’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 4.5 per cent overall between 2007 and 2010.
Will we continue this trajectory if we expand natural gas fracking? Both the Liberals and the New Democrats support it, Clarke even labeling it a “clean energy.” This Cornell study demonstrates how the high methane emissions from the drilling practice might actually mean shale gas is worse than traditional energy sources like coal.
From the report:
The footprint for shale gas is greater than that for conventional gas or oil when viewed on any time horizon, but particularly so over 20 years. Compared to coal, the footprint of shale gas is at least 20% greater and perhaps more than twice as great on the 20-year horizon and is comparable when compared over 100 years.
