As British Columbia charges ahead with its ambitious CleanBC climate goals, a crucial question emerges: Are our targets calibrated to the real-world dynamics of our economy, infrastructure, and communities—particularly those in resource-rich regions like Northeast BC?
Our recent report Shaping the Peace: Balancing Energy, Environment & Reconciliation in Northeast BC makes one thing clear: bold environmental ambition must be matched by pragmatic policy execution. Without that alignment, we risk not only economic instability but missed opportunities to lead a responsible, inclusive energy transition.
The reality check from the Northeast
Northeast BC isn’t just a remote outpost—it’s the economic engine room of the province. It produces nearly all of BC’s natural gas, a third of its electricity, nearly a fifth of its metallurgical coal, and a sizable portion of its agricultural output. Still, the sector’s future is uncertain because provincial climate goals such as cutting oil and gas emissions to 33–38 percent below 2007 levels by 2030 confront current technological and infrastructure limits.
Consider electrification as an example. Powering only two LNG projects entirely with clean electricity could require more than 2.5 times the capacity of the 1,100 MW Site C dam.
Such a transition is not impossible, yet at the current pace it remains implausible without a major grid build-out and proven technology. Meanwhile, BC Hydro forecasts demand will rise at least 15 percent by 2030 as heat-pump conversions and the province’s zero-emission-vehicle mandate push extra load onto the system. Three more proposed LNG projects alone are already requesting about 1,400 MW of new connections, quickly consuming the utility’s industrial-electrification allowance. In short, British Columbia’s electrification ambitions are racing far ahead of the power lines and megawatts needed to make them real.
Aligning ambition with capacity
Policy Recommendations
- Root targets in current economic reality
- Acknowledge the resource industries that still anchor jobs and revenues across British Columbia, especially in the northeast.
- Calibrate interim milestones so they are credible given today’s technology, infrastructure, and workforce.
- Channel resource revenues into the transition
- Earmark a portion of LNG royalties and tax receipts for grid expansion, clean-tech pilots, and skills programs that prepare workers for low-carbon roles.
- Make this funding predictable and transparent to build investor and community confidence.
- Sequence electrification with infrastructure growth
- Prioritise high-impact loads first (for example, gas-processing compressors) while major transmission upgrades and new generation come online.
- Establish clear criteria for which projects receive scarce clean-power capacity.
- Protect community well-being during the shift
- Pair emissions policies with economic-resilience measures so that remote and Indigenous communities share in new investment rather than absorb the cost of lost activity.
- Support local ownership stakes in clean-energy assets where feasible.
- Build accountability into every step
- Publish annual progress audits that compare actual emission cuts, power-demand growth, and reinvested revenues against the plan.
- Adjust course quickly if targets slip or costs escalate.
This framework turns today’s resource strength into the financial engine for tomorrow’s clean-energy system, ensuring climate ambition moves at the pace that infrastructure and communities can sustain.
Shared prosperity, sustainable progress
Recalibrating climate goals doesn’t mean lowering ambition. It means planning smarter. It means ensuring that rural and Indigenous communities—many of whom are at the frontlines of energy production—are part of the solution, with investments in skills training, revenue-sharing, and clean local energy like geothermal and wind.
Ultimately, British Columbia can’t afford to trade one crisis for another. Climate action must walk hand in hand with economic resilience, regional equity, and scientific feasibility. When done right, recalibrating our goals doesn’t slow progress—it accelerates it in a way everyone can support.
