A newly formed coalition backed by Canada’s natural gas industry is urging the federal government to obtain emission credits for exporting the fuel in liquid form.
The coalition’s advisory council, which includes representatives from business, labour and Indigenous groups, argues that LNG is ideal for displacing higher-emitting coal being burned at power plants generating electricity in Asia. “The claim that B.C. LNG projects could earn credits for global emissions reductions is flimsy,” said the Suzuki Foundation’s study titled Burning Bridge: Debunking LNG as a Climate Solution. “If Asian countries fail to shift to renewables and continue to rely on gas, switching to B.C. LNG would only displace Russian gas, not coal,” according to the environmental group’s study.
The federal government has said that it held talks about Article 6 with a couple of Canada’s allies that are prospective LNG buyers, but cautioned that the issue of carbon credits is complex and time-consuming. The 27th Conference of the Parties, also known as the COP27 climate summit, was held in Egypt last November and ended with unresolved issues related to the mitigation outcomes.