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Canadian First
Nations show
interest in LNG
BRITISH COLUMBIA
FOUR Canadian First Nations in north-west British Columbia have partnered in a climate change initiative that wants to buy into the coun- try’s nascent LNG industry.
The Nisga’a, Haisla and two Coast Tsimshian bands – the Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla – have partnered on the initiative, which is known as the Northwest First Nations Collaborative Climate Change Initiative (FNCCI). The groups signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last week that will include co-operation on the “planning, management, construction and own- ership” of new LNG projects in the province.
This comes as First Nations are increasingly participating in energy projects in the hope that this will help alleviate poverty in their commu- nities. For example, Haisla Chief Crystal Smith said her band was already benefitting from the CAD40bn ($30.4bn) LNG Canada project in Kitimat, on the BC coast.
“We can see the changes and the benefits [for] our people,” she was reported by local media as saying. “As First Nations leaders, it’s our respon- sibility, for not only protecting our environment ... but it’s also our responsibility for the social aspect of our people.”
The Haisla Nation is also backing a proposal for a floating LNG (FLNG) terminal offshore Kitimat. The Haisla-owned Cedar LNG initiated an environmental review for the project in Sep- tember and is targeting start-up in 2025.
The FNCCI is not yet targeting a specific pro- ject, but Lax Kw’alaams Mayor John Helin said the partnership was setting the stage for future participation in any proposed ventures.
The group’s stance puts it at odds with the BC Green Party, which opposes the development of any LNG projects in the province, arguing that such developments would undermine provincial greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction efforts. How- ever, the FNCCI is arguing that LNG projects would help meet environmental goals by dis- placing coal-fired power in Asia with natural gas.
“The reality is that Canada can make a much greater impact on climate change by displacing coal with BC LNG in Japan and China than we could if new LNG projects weren’t to proceed,” Metlakatla First Nation’s Chief Councilor, Har- old Leighton, said in a statement. Our Nations want to support the reduction of GHGs as much as possible and displacing coal with BC LNG can make a major contribution,” he added.
“We could eliminate more than all the GHGs produced in BC in one year (64mn tonnes) if
The FNCCI is arguing that LNG projects would help meet environmental goals by displacing coal- fired power in Asia with natural gas.
we used the gas from a single electrified medi- um-to-large LNG plant to replace coal-fired generation in Asia,” said Smith. “We are very pleased to know that this kind of displacement is a key objective of Shell’s LNG Canada pro- ject: the world needs more of this and so do our communities.”
The FNCCI’s GHG estimates come from E3Merge Consulting, which has said that for every tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced in BC from LNG Canada, GHGs would go down by a factor of 10, if it displaces coal power in Asia.
The LNG Canada project would add an estimated 3.5mn tonnes per year (tpy) of CO2 to BC’s carbon budget, marking an increase of about 5.5% compared with what the prov- ince produced in 2017. And GHG reductions achieved outside a given country are not taken into account when measuring emissions under the Paris Agreement. But some may nonetheless support efforts that help reduce emissions on a global level, rather than locally.
The FNCCI appears to be similar to the First Nations Limited Partnership, which repre- sents 16 BC First Nations and acts as collective bargaining and investment group involved in the Pacific Trails gas pipeline. This is the pipe- line that would supply gas to the Kitimat LNG project, proposed by Chevron and Woodside Energy, if it proceeds.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 42 22•October•2019