The BC NDP’s quiet retreat from climate leadership

In a move that has largely flown under the radar, the BC NDP government appears to be stepping away from its once-prominent climate commitments. Unlike past years when CleanBC (the government’s plan to meet its 2030 emissions target) was front and center, recent decisions and documents from the new government signal a noticeable de-prioritization of environmental responsibility—changes made quietly, with minimal public communication, and a stark absence of climate language in key government statements.

Climate is missing from the conversation

The tone was set early this year when climate action was conspicuously absent from both the 2025 Speech from the Throne and the provincial budget address. This suggests a deeper backsliding by new Energy and Climate Change Strategies Minister Adrian Dix from the climate leadership the B.C. government celebrated as North America’s strongest climate plan and for which they gladly accepted international awards. A former champion for the fight against the Trans Mountain Pipeline, Dix appears to not understand how climate policy works and has approached his file with the sole purpose of building new infrastructure to increase revenue rather than to reduce emissions.

This shift within government is particularly troubling at a time when innovative and creative solutions are required to address the impacts of climate change —after failing for decades to treat it like the true emergency it is.

Climate action can save governments and people money and has the potential to usher in a new era of economic prosperity that is based on renewable resources such as wind, solar, and geothermal and are more market-stable in this volatile political time.

A shift in priorities, a gift to industry

In late March,  the Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions quietly revised its nascent Energy Framework, watering down the net-zero requirement for new LNG (liquefied natural gas) projects. Originally introduced in March 2023 shortly after Premier Eby’s first cabinet was sworn in, this policy was meant to close the final gap in the CleanBC plan by laying out the government’s plan to bring down emissions from the oil and gas sector specifically. Under the revised directive, LNG facilities no longer need to operate at net zero—they only need to be “net-zero ready.” In practice, this means projects can proceed using gas-fired power as long as they claim they could connect to the electric grid in the future if power became available. This change effectively permits the construction of facilities that could significantly increase emissions, undermining B.C.’s climate commitments.

This isn’t a “climate plan clarification” as it has been billed by the ministry—it’s a loophole that lets industries off the hook.

It’s not the only big concession the NDP government has given to industry in the last year either. Last August, the BC NDP quietly extended the implementation timeline for its new fracked gas royalty regime for another two years. Royalties are one of the primary ways that governments collect revenue from extractive industries like oil and gas. In exchange for extracting the resources in B.C. companies have to pay for the amount they take. In the past B.C.’s resources always seemed to be on sale though, with subsidies to oil and gas more than doubling under former Premier John Horgan to a whopping $1.3 billion. This figure is in addition to the more than $3B in surplus royalty credits that fracking companies have been allowed to accrue, ostensibly in order to ensure that their industries survive – even with industries’ marginal economic benefits– and continue to do business in B.C.

In 2022, B.C. restructured its royalty regime removing several subsidies for B.C’s fracking industry; specifically the ones that incentivized fracking for wells that have only marginal or ultra marginal production value, and others like the deep well royalty credit. Now, they have extended the time when the new system will come into force, effectively giving industry two more years to benefit from outdated subsidy structures, without which the industry would be barely profitable. It’s a quiet win for polluters and a disappointing loss for transparency and climate accountability.

Budget tells the story

Delays like this cost the province money. For every year that the royalties remain at the old rates, British Columbians fail to secure fair revenue for our precious and finite resources.

The province currently faces a crippling $9 billion  deficit causing the B.C. NDP to direct every minister in their mandate letters to work within finance constraints and to find new sources of revenue. These policies are critical to keeping the B.C. NDP in power as costs of living mount, and local communities and the province shoulder the increasing cost of climate disasters.

The provincial budget further confirms this pivot. Despite citing weakening global demand for natural gas and growing economic uncertainty, the BC NDP is doubling down on LNG. Yet, even optimistic projections show that natural gas royalties will contribute just $1.2 billion to the provincial budget in 2026—a mere 1.4% of BC’s total revenue. To put it in perspective, the BC Lottery Corporation is expected to contribute more to the provincial coffers than LNG.

Undermining CleanBC

Premier David Eby’s government, which had promised to make B.C. a climate leader, recently scrapped the consumer-facing carbon tax. This move reverses a core pledge and dismantles a policy that once set British Columbia apart as a climate-forward province. The carbon tax was a hallmark of B.C.’s CleanBC plan and a key mechanism to drive down emissions.

Now, its cancellation will cost the province more than $1.5 billion in lost revenue, potentially jeopardizing core elements of CleanBC that depended on that funding.

Minister Adrian Dix admitted at the end of April with the release of the Climate Accountability Report that B.C. will fall far short of their 2025 and 2030 targets. This is considered to be in large part due to aspirational modeling not in line with B.C’s policies or enforcement habits creating a growing divide between its legislated targets, and the reductions its implemented policies can realistically achieve. The B.C. government has already agreed in a deal with the BC Green Party to review CleanBC, now with an extra eye to the effectiveness with which programs are reducing emissions.

A transition briefing note to Minister Dix earlier this year suggests that the problem is two-fold:

1. That CleanBC included targets with no clear policies to support them, and other policies that did exist, but have been changed from original intent in such a way that they have significantly less emission reduction than initially modelled; and

2. That the BC government failed to adequately enforce the policies that could have the intended impact: such as shelving the made-in-bc emissions cap last year, extending the entry-into-force of the new royalty regime, and zero emissions vehicle mandates (rather than just incentives) for light and heavy industry operators.

Moving the goal posts, again

The BC NDP were quick to follow the Climate Accountability Report with a second call for clean power, hoping to distract from their abysmal failure to make progress towards their legislated emissions reduction targets by re-focusing on increasing renewables, electrification, and efficiency. It’s a page right out of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s environmental playbook to re-focus the conversation on the importance of efficiency and intensity-based rather than reduction-based targets to downplay their lack of ability to develop and enforce effective policies. A move the BC NDP should be cautious of given the most recent court victory against Ford’s government for its failure to adequately address the devastating impacts of climate change.

B.C. has its own history of devastating climate impacts to consider, as ongoing droughts stoke anxiety in communities across B.C. of the impending fire season. All the renewable energy in the world won’t decrease our emissions and mitigate these impacts if B.C. continues to ramp up fracking to feed new LNG exports. Even if B.C. shamelessly exports those emissions overseas and pats themselves on the back for it, we remain home to the upstream and mid-stream emissions of extracting, transporting, and compressing the gas–especially now that the NDP eased the pressure on facilities to be net-zero by 2050.

A false promise of prosperity

These developments suggest a concerning trend: the BC NDP is prioritizing industry interests over environmental responsibility. By weakening climate policies and increasing support for fossil fuel projects, the government is aligning more closely with polluters than with the people it serves.

Let’s be clear: LNG is not the economic windfall it’s been sold as. And it certainly can’t cover the rising costs of climate disasters. In 2024 alone, B.C. spent $621 million fighting wildfires. With the climate crisis escalating and the IPCC urging governments to halt new fossil fuel projects, doubling down on LNG is not just shortsighted—it’s reckless.

Climate action has the power to drive long-term, stable prosperity rooted in clean energy, innovation, and jobs that don’t threaten our planet’s future. Walking away from that path means turning our backs on the opportunity for a people-centered, sustainable economy.

Upcoming LNG Projects: A test for environmental policy

The BC NDP’s commitment to climate action will soon be tested by three major LNG projects: the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Line, the Ksi Lisims LNG terminal, and the Tilbury LNG terminal. Each project represents a significant expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure in the province.

• Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Line: This pipeline is designed to transport natural gas to the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG terminal. Its environmental certificate expired last November after a decade without beginning construction. There is no provision in B.C.’s environmental laws to provide for an additional extension as the project now needs to be re-assessed in light of current impacts on indigenous rights and environmental impacts. In the coming weeks, the B.C. NDP will need to make a decision of whether it will bend over backwards to ensure this project can move forward, or stand by historical precedent and allow the certificate to expire

• Ksi Lisims LNG Terminal: Located on Pearse Island, this floating LNG export facility is being developed by the Nisga’a Nation and partners. The project has received a federal export license and is progressing through the provincial environmental assessment process.It would be the key beneficiary of the recent change to the B.C. Energy Framework’s net-zero policy. Once the assessment process concludes, cabinet will have to determine whether they will allow the project’s domestic upstream emissions from fracking, and down-stream emissions from gas use to hurtle us away further from our emissions reduction targets.

• Tilbury LNG Terminal Expansion: The Tilbury Phase 2 expansion would increase the terminal’s production capacity by more than 50%. While the federal government has approved the marine jetty component, the full expansion is still under provincial review. Environmental groups have raised concerns about “project splitting,” where interconnected projects are assessed separately, potentially underestimating their cumulative environmental impact.​ Located in the mouth of the Fraser, this project would add as much pollution each year to the local area as the entire city of Vancouver it borders, not to mention threaten delicate and iconic B.C. species such as orcas and salmon.

These projects collectively represent a significant submission to LNG development in BC. How the BC NDP approaches their approval and development will be a critical indicator of the government’s dedication to balancing economic interests with environmental responsibility.

Where do we go from here?

British Columbians didn’t vote for a government that would roll over and do the bidding of the big oil lobby or turn their back on climate policy. The climate crisis hasn’t paused—if anything, it’s accelerating. When even progressive governments retreat from climate action, it’s a clarion call  that environmental advocacy must grow louder.  It’s up to everyday people to keep this urgency on the public agenda, especially when governments go silent.

This is a moment to re-energize, to hold our leaders accountable, and to demand a just, livable future over short-term industry profit.

The climate won’t wait. Neither should we.