British Columbians are deeply concerned about climate change, and while they support clean electricity to address climate change, many harbour concerns about how clean electricity is currently developed. Government energy and climate policies have stimulated a rapid increase in the rate of development of renewable electricity projects, but public support has not kept pace in many cases. Projects have frequently been opposed due to concerns about social, environmental and economic costs. “Recommendations for Responsible Clean Electricity Development in British Columbia,” outlines how planning and development can proceed in a way that is more transparent, strategic and inclusive of and beneficial to all British Columbians — First Nations and the public alike — while limiting environmental impacts.

Energy: The Will and the Way

At Coast Mountain, we agree with the recent “Recommendations” (also endorsed by 26 BC NGOs) calling for democratic planning processes that include rigorous environmental screening and monitoring for industrial developments. We hope that creative public discussion will help us find solutions to social and legislative biases that stand in the way. Truly sustainable solutions require progressive change that is urgent and overdue.

But first things first: the British Columbia government must stop promoting, supporting and subsidizing coal, oil and gas industries and infrastructures.

Climate change requires additional actions, but before rushing into development strategies, there must be comprehensive assessments, precautionary principles, and guaranteed outcomes. New energy production has to correlate with real reductions in fossil fuel use – otherwise more energy just causes more consumption. Assessment is crucial: mega projects with massive construction footprints and major environmental impacts do not effectively address global carbon or biodiversity issues. Simply producing more energy will not solve our problems; this is proved by history and science and corroborated by some of the world’s leading thinkers. We need to use less not create more.

Profitability as the driving force for development is a dangerous course where investor interests trump environment. In BC, there must be democratic processes (re)installed and public oversight of corporate agendas. Better yet, development based on a public framework that supports properly monitored private contractor involvement. This could create public and social benefits that are desirable, and appropriate when public resources are impacted.

Scale and location of any energy production have to be primary considerations. Our biggest challenge is to absolutely minimize environmental impacts – ignoring and misunderstanding our habitat is why we have a crisis. There are major impacts happening right now in BC with river diversion constructions that appear to be experiments gone awry: technology is failing, the environmental consequences are ominous, and oversight is terribly inadequate. We don’t even know what’s going on!

Technology might supply electricity for all people to live better, but only if we live simpler and revere the earth systems that sustain us.  BC’s new priority should be an energy conservation campaign driven by reason and compassion, mandated by law and economic incentive. We need all hands on deck and that will happen only with public education and collective will. With a will, there’s a way.

====================

The Recommendations propose that British Columbia’s progress on clean electricity policy and development can be dramatically improved by:
1. Ensuring that energy conservation and efficiency is the highest priority.
2. Making British Columbia’s electricity supply as clean, renewable and low-impact as possible.
3. Adopting a renewable electricity planning framework that limits environmental, social and economic impacts and maximizes public benefit.
4. Reforming water licensing, land leasing decisions and governance.
5. Strengthening the environmental assessment process, addressing and managing cumulative effects, and improving monitoring and compliance performance.
6. Developing an informed consensus about the conditions whereby renewable electricity could be exported from British Columbia, if at all.