B.C. Legislature presented with petition to stop Tilbury LNG expansion

VICTORIA, B.C. (Songhees and Esquimalt Territories ) — Today, Kelly Greene, MLA for Richmond-Steveston (NDP) presented a petition signed by 400 Richmond residents on the floor of the BC Legislature calling for ending the expansion of the Tilbury LNG plant located in the Fraser River on the boundary between the cities of Delta and Richmond B.C. The project is a key part of FortisBC’s plan to export and bunker LNG for shipping fuel through the linked Tilbury LNG facility – a plan that will more than double harmful fracking operations in northeastern B.C.

“Today, local residents and their MLA have been heard on the floor of the B.C. Legislative assembly. Their demand is clear: put a stop to the expansion of the Tilbury LNG plant and the tanker dock. Nowhere else in the world would a dangerous industrial facility like this be allowed to be built so close to homes and neighborhoods,” said Kiki Wood, Senior Oil and Gas Campaigner for Stand.earth. “Fracking has a terrible impact on the health of people and nature. The Tilbury Jetty, and its accompanying Tilbury LNG terminal, could have a devastating effect on the delicate Fraser River Estuary and the well-being of local communities.”

The Tilbury LNG expansion would add as much pollution to B.C.’s air annually as the entire city of Vancouver, and would require drilling thousands of new fracking wells in order to supply it with fracked gas. The cities of Richmond, Vancouver, New Westminster, and Burnaby all passed motions opposing the Tilbury LNG expansion project, citing significant environmental, climate and livelihood concerns. 

“As if we need more devastating reminders – like the cycle of increasing wildfires in B.C. – of what the true cost of methane-producing LNG causes. It is the job of our representatives to look out for their community. Well, the people at risk have spoken. It’s time to listen to them, respect the science, and put an end to this climate bomb,” added Wood.

The latest IPCC report was clear that world leaders must move beyond fossil fuel production in order to keep temperatures from rising above the dangerous threshold of 1.5°C. By approving this Jetty, the B.C. government is acting in contradiction of the world’s most authoritative scientific voice on the climate crisis. Stand.earth is calling on the provincial government to truly commit to an energy transition that moves away from fossil fuel projects and invests in real climate solutions.

###

Media contacts:

KiKi Wood, Senior Oil and Gas Campaigner, Stand.earth
kiki@stand.earth (Pacific Time)

Kathryn Semogas, Communications Specialist, Stand.earth
kathryn.semogas@stand.earth (Eastern Time)