What? No market for LNG?

One thing you can say for BC Green Party leader Andrew Weaver: When he takes a position, he can sure stick to it:

  • “I’ve been saying for four years, there is no market for LNG.”

And as recently as March 27, he was still on it:

  • “The reason why we have no LNG industry here in British Columbia is that the market simply doesn’t support it,” he insisted on the Business News Network.

No market?

This is why natural-gas developers have already spent billions in BC, building and securing gas supplies, and working on pipelines?

This is why Shell and partners are looking at a $40-billion LNG Canada plant and export terminal at Kitimat?

And this is why investment in LNG is booming around the world?

We do understand and relate to Mr. Weaver’s concerns for the environment. Protection of the environment, of our land, our air, and our water, has been a priority for First Nations in BC for thousands and thousands of years.

But. . . . the Greens are an “official party” for legislature purposes, meaning they have provincial funding for office, staff, and research capability.

And Mr. Weaver’s advisers seem to have missed some of the market information that is out there.

Some recent examples:

And, of course:

So there’s “no market” for LNG?

As the BC LNG Alliance says: ‘Make no mistake, if BC doesn’t develop an LNG industry it doesn’t mean there is any less LNG in the world. It just means that other countries without our strong environmental regulations will produce and supply it and see all the benefits instead of British Columbians.’

As for Mr. Weaver’s environmental concerns, hear David Keane, CEO of the BC LNG Alliance:

“By developing a globally competitive, liquefied natural-gas (LNG) industry, B.C. can market its abundant natural gas, exporting responsibly developed natural gas to countries that need cleaner fuels to power their economies.

“We can help those countries address their energy, climate and air-quality goals, while meeting B.C.’s strict climate targets. . . . LNG from B.C. will be the cleanest in the world due to the province’s world-leading GHG emissions policies and rules.”

Maybe we’re missing something, but it sure looks to us like there’s a market for BC LNG. We hope to meet with Mr. Weaver one day to explain why, and why many First Nations are eager to see it happen.

Chief Councillor Joe Bevan of the Kitselas First Nation is just one Indigenous leader who sees a future in responsible LNG development:

“For some of chiefs who have seen three generations from one family, under social assistance, it’s time that we stopped managing poverty and start managing wealth.”

— Karen Ogen-Toews, CEO, First Nations LNG Alliance

 

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