• About
  • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Contact
Celebrating our 1,000th edition. The climate news you need
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  FEATURED
BREAKING: 40% of Fossil Fuels Now Under Development Must Stay in the Ground May 17, 2022
Rocky Mountain Glaciers ‘Past Tipping Point’, with Some Expected to Vanish by 2030 May 17, 2022
UK Activists Block Russian Oil Tanker From Docking in Essex May 17, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Bid to Revive Doomed Nova Scotia LNG Project Collides with Germany’s Net-Zero Plans May 16, 2022
3,800 Residents Ordered to Evacuate after Flooding in Hay River, NWT May 16, 2022
Next
Prev
Home Climate & Society

Fossil Dollars Might Explain British Columbia’s Climate Inaction

July 12, 2016
Reading time: 2 minutes

TransCanada’s ‘Hotshot Computer System’ Misses Keystone Spill

shannonpatrick17/flickr

 
shannonpatrick17/flickr
shannonpatrick17/flickr

A flood of money from oil, gas, and mineral extraction interests might help explain why British Columbia has gone from leader to laggard in climate policy under its current government, Kai Nagata of the B.C.-based, anti-oil Dogwood Initiative writes in a blog post.

The province is all but unique among democratic jurisdictions, he notes, in allowing “any corporation, union, or numbered company anywhere in the world” to donate to its political parties. Its premier, Christy Clark, has acknowledged that she receives a stipend from her party that is financed by donors, and has so far paid her $300,000 on top of her $195,000-a-year salary as premier.

Citing public records retrieved by IntegrityBC, Nagata finds that “the oil and gas industry has donated at least $3.8 million to the ruling BC Liberals since 2005 (when Elections BC began keeping records), with another $5.1 million from mining and coal companies.”

The largest contribution—$1,162,751—came from TransCanada Pipelines, which hopes to transport compressed natural gas from B.C. gas fields to a terminal that Malaysia’s Petronas wants to build at Lelu Island near Prince Rupert. Petronas, a state-owned enterprise, gave the Liberals $117,050. And TransCanada’s co-founder Gwyn Morgan (who advised Clark on the formation of her cabinet and staff after her election, and who continues to counsel the premier) made personal donations of $200,270, Dogwood reports.

“This system leaves B.C. decision-makers wide open to influence by the fossil fuel industry,” Nagata charges, “including state-owned energy companies belonging to other governments in China and Malaysia.”

He accuses fossil fuel companies of using their influence over the B.C. government to put off its response to the climate crisis in order “to liquidate their reserves before they lose value. Hence the current rush to expand coal ports, fracking, and oil pipelines in British Columbia.

“How can our politicians be trusted to make decisions in the best interests of British Columbians when they owe their very political survival to foreign corporations?” Nagata asks. “The answer is they can’t, and the effect on public policy has become deeply corrosive.”



in Climate & Society, Community Climate Finance, Energy Politics, Fossil Fuels, Jurisdictions, Oil & Gas, Sub-National Governments

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

Mounting Drought Risk Confronts London, Other World Cities
Drought, Famine & Wildfires

Mounting Drought Risk Confronts London, Other World Cities

May 19, 2022
44
85,000-Hectare Fort Mac Wildfire Expected to Grow for Days
Drought, Famine & Wildfires

Six Traumatic Years After ‘The Beast’, Fort McMurray Remains Loyal to Big Oil

May 19, 2022
18
‘New New Math’ Means Keeping Even More Fossils in the Ground: McKibben
International Security & War

U.S. Can’t Drill Its Way to Energy Security, Jenkins Warns

May 19, 2022
13

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

BREAKING: 40% of Fossil Fuels Now Under Development Must Stay in the Ground

May 18, 2022
398
Lack of Consent Drives Indigenous Opposition to Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mining Plan

Lack of Consent Drives Indigenous Opposition to Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mining Plan

May 17, 2022
200
Wildfire

U.S. Utilities Warn of Hazards, Rolling Blackouts as Heat Waves Increase Demand

May 12, 2022
309
Fossils Fret as McKenna Sends Mammoth LNG Project to Cabinet Review

EXCLUSIVE: Bid to Revive Doomed Nova Scotia LNG Project Collides with Germany’s Net-Zero Plans

May 16, 2022
454
Mounting Drought Risk Confronts London, Other World Cities

Mounting Drought Risk Confronts London, Other World Cities

May 19, 2022
44
Floating Tidal Project Linked to Nova Scotia Grid in Canadian First

Floating Tidal Project Linked to Nova Scotia Grid in Canadian First

May 17, 2022
143

Recent Posts

85,000-Hectare Fort Mac Wildfire Expected to Grow for Days

Six Traumatic Years After ‘The Beast’, Fort McMurray Remains Loyal to Big Oil

May 19, 2022
18
‘New New Math’ Means Keeping Even More Fossils in the Ground: McKibben

U.S. Can’t Drill Its Way to Energy Security, Jenkins Warns

May 19, 2022
13
Ontario Contemplates ‘Ultra-Low Carbon’ Super-Agency

Ontario’s New Highway 413 Would Boost Emissions, Bake In ‘Auto-Dependent Sprawl’

May 19, 2022
15
Newfoundland Offers Suncor $175 Million to Restart Terra Nova Offshore Oilfield

Newfoundland Opens New Round of Offshore Oil Bidding

May 19, 2022
12
Farmers’ Mental Health Strained by Climate-Driven Weather Extremes

Farmers’ Mental Health Strained by Climate-Driven Weather Extremes

May 19, 2022
16
Calgary Company to Supply 180 MWh of Battery Capacity to Alberta Grid

Calgary Company to Supply 180 MWh of Battery Capacity to Alberta Grid

May 19, 2022
11
Next Post
Gold’s hidden climate footprint

Gold’s hidden climate footprint

The Energy Mix

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}

2022 ONTARIO GENERAL ELECTION

KEEP UP WITH ONTARIO’S CLIMATE CHANGE ELECTION

election-checkmark
Get Election Notifications

2022 ONTARIO GENERAL ELECTION

KEEP UP WITH ONTARIO’S CLIMATE CHANGE ELECTION

election-checkmark
Get Election Notifications
The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

2022 ONTARIO GENERAL ELECTION

KEEP UP WITH ONTARIO’S CLIMATE CHANGE ELECTION

election-checkmark
Get Election Notifications

2022 ONTARIO GENERAL ELECTION

KEEP UP WITH ONTARIO’S CLIMATE CHANGE ELECTION

election-checkmark
Get Election Notifications
The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

2022 Ontario General Election

Keep up with Ontario’s Climate Change Election

election-checkmark
GET THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST

2022 Ontario General Election

Keep up with Ontario’s Climate Change Election

election-checkmark
GET THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST
The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

2022 Ontario General Election

Keep up with Ontario’s Climate Change Election

election-checkmark
GET THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST

2022 Ontario General Election

Keep up with Ontario’s Climate Change Election

election-checkmark
GET THE NEWS THAT MATTERS MOST
The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?