Opinion: BC’s massive carbon bomb approval is an act of arson

The justifications for the Ksi Lisims LNG terminal are indefensible.

By Dr. Melissa Lem, Kai Nagata, and Emiko Newman

Last week’s announcement by Premier Danielle Smith – that Alberta wants to bring a new bitumen pipeline to northwestern BC – was met with opposition from Premier David Eby.  

BC’s premier is absolutely right to oppose this pipeline, which has no Indigenous consent, no private sector proponent, and would be taxpayer-funded.

And yet, his critiques make his support for Ksi Lisims LNG all the more perplexing. 

The provincial and federal governments jointly recently gave joint approval to the American-owned Ksi Lisims LNG proposal, a floating liquefied natural gas terminal that, if completed, will export 12 million tonnes of LNG annually to overseas markets. 

With this approval, the BC government has chosen the side of the fossil fuel industry at the exact moment global markets are shifting to renewable energy. And it is not looking back.

Caught in a frenzy of fossil fuel expansion

The Ksi Lisims approval is the latest in a string of fossil fuel infrastructure projects the province has been pushing through.

This summer, LNG Canada Phase 1 (another foreign-owned export terminal located in Kitimat) began operating, marking Canada’s first foray into the global LNG market. 

That same month, BC approved the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline despite vigorous Indigenous opposition – including multiple blockades, legal actions, petitions, and protest – and an environmental assessment certificate that was granted 11 years prior. 

Most recently, LNG Canada Phase 2 was included on the Prime Minister’s list of “nationally significant” projects, which will double the output capacity of Phase 1. These projects will emit roughly 75 million tonnes of climate-wrecking, health-harming greenhouse gas emissions abroad – more than all of BC’s yearly emissions. 

A broken assessment system

For years, the BC government argued that while natural gas wasn’t great, at least it could transition other countries off coal. Now, with that claim solidly debunked, the messaging has shifted: BC’s LNG is “the cleanest in the world” because we are electrifying our facilities. 

But the gas that would have been used to power the facility is simply shipped overseas and burned there. The overall emissions output remains the same. And now taxpayers are on the hook for a new dam and transmission line to power the terminal. 

Furthermore, the vast majority of BC LNG is produced via a highly polluting process called fracking, which research links to significantly higher rates of heart and lung disease, childhood cancer, birth defects and premature death. Indigenous and rural communities in BC are disproportionately exposed to those risks. 

Even more distressing is the way BC calculates emissions. When assessing a new project, emissions released when the gas is burned at its destination are not accounted for. 

An environmental assessment process that fails to take the true scale of emissions into account is a broken process.

Lack of Indigenous consent

Many local Nations that will be affected by Ksi Lisims have voiced concerns about the project impacting their communities, land, water, cultural practices, and local wildlife. The “Ministers’ Reasons for Decision” states explicitly that Metlakatla First Nation, Lax Kw’alaams Band, and Kitsumkalum First Nation did not provide their consent for the project. The Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs are also vehemently opposed and have vowed to keep fighting it. 

Consideration and consultation are meaningless if First Nations opposition is ignored. 

Keep in mind that, while Ksi Lisims LNG is pitched as a Nisga’a-led project, it is not in fact Indigenous-owned. While the Nisga’a treaty government supports the project, the Nisga’a don’t have an equity stake in Ksi Lisims. Rather, they will merely be landlords on a piece of property they own fee-simple at the mouth of the Nass river (which is actually outside their treaty territory) that will host the Korean-built floating terminal. 

It is Texas-based Western LNG who are the full owners. Western LNG has close ties to American MAGA billionaires. The largest investor behind the project is Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, a close friend and major donor of President Trump. Surely British Columbians do not want to be sending profits to these bad actors. 

Canadian fossil fuels are causing deaths worldwide 

LNG is a fossil fuel, and extracting and burning fossil fuels accelerates climate breakdown. It also has severe implications for human health. 

A recent study conducted about the long-term health impacts from the 2023 Canadian wildfires showed the deadly impact was global. It estimates that over 82,000 deaths worldwide were attributable to air pollution from the wildfires, a mind-boggling number.

How can Canada justify exporting death overseas due to our addiction to toxic fuel sources?

A new analysis shows that this summer alone, human-caused global warming was responsible for two out of three heat deaths in Europe. That’s another 16,500 people killed due to climate change. 

In “celebrating” the approval of Ksi Lisims, Premier Eby sought to justify the decision by pointing to Donald Trump’s desire to build an LNG facility in neighboring Alaska: “We are not going to stand by and let this opportunity pass us and watch, literally just down the road, the Americans build a giant plant to lower standards, without the protections that B.C. offers, and deprive local First Nations, local communities, British Columbians, and Canadians of $17 billion in benefits.”

This is a dangerous defence. Just because President Trump is intent on torching the planet doesn’t mean we should throw in the towel on climate and join him. That is a logic that will see us all fry. What’s more, according to a Health Canada report, between 2013 and 2018, the annual medical costs associated with wildfire smoke alone were between $4.3 billion to $19 billion for long-term health effects. 

The fight is not over

The Ksi Lisims fight is far from over. 

The final investment decision has yet to come, and a brand-new pipeline and export facility still must be built. The Indigenous Nations who have not consented to this project will put up a fierce fight. That will mean on-the-ground opposition, legal battles, delays, and – if TMX is anything to go by – skyrocketing construction costs.   

To approve projects that will knowingly decimate our old-growth forests, threaten rivers teeming with wild salmon, and kill millions of people worldwide – these are willful acts of arson. 

Dr. Melissa Lem is president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and a family physician. Kai Nagata is the communications coordinator at Dogwood BC. Emiko Newman is co-ordinator of the BC Climate Emergency Campaign.