British Columbia is on the heels of an election, with the government focusing on climate change action through its flagship CleanBC plan. Yet BC has the second-highest level of fossil fuel subsidies of Canadian provinces. This webinar, hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Stand.earth, Dogwood, and My Sea to Sky and featuring Tzeporah Berman, Vanessa Corkal, Kai Nagata, Marc Lee, and Hup Wil Lax A (Kirby Muldoe), delves into the province’s fossil fuel subsidies, examining their impacts but also potential to phase them out to support climate action.
In 2017–18, BC’s fossil fuel subsidies totaled at least CAD 830 million. The speakers go through the different types of subsidies in the province and explain their role in the expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG), including what this means for competing clean energy. They talk through the BC NDP election promise to review the oil and gas royalty framework, and how this could be used as a starting point for subsidy reform. They discuss how fossil fuel subsidies and climate change impact communities directly, including First Nations, but also highlight the potential to kickstart clean solutions if government money is reinvested wisely.
