B.C.'s Big LNG Bet Comes With a Big Carbon Price Tag
British Columbia is making headlines this week after a deal was announced to sell liquefied natural gas from the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG project to a German utility — but new calculations from CBC News are putting a spotlight on what that deal could cost the planet.
According to the analysis, the Ksi Lisims project would increase B.C.'s annual greenhouse gas emissions by somewhere between six and eight per cent. For a province that has repeatedly set ambitious climate targets, those numbers are raising serious questions.
What Is Ksi Lisims?
Ksi Lisims is a proposed LNG export terminal located in northwestern British Columbia, near the Nisga'a Nation's traditional territory. The project has been championed as an economic opportunity — one that would create jobs, generate revenue for Indigenous communities, and help European allies diversify their energy supply away from Russian gas.
The deal announced this week would see LNG from the facility shipped to Germany, part of a broader push by European nations to secure long-term energy alternatives following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Climate Math
Here's where things get complicated. Liquefied natural gas production is an energy-intensive process — gas must be cooled to around -160°C before it can be loaded onto tankers. That process, along with the extraction and transportation of the gas itself, generates significant greenhouse gas emissions.
CBC News's calculations suggest the full lifecycle emissions from Ksi Lisims would push B.C.'s annual output up by six to eight per cent. B.C. already struggles to meet its provincially mandated emissions reduction targets, and critics argue that greenlighting a major new fossil fuel project makes those targets nearly impossible to hit.
Climate advocates have been sounding the alarm about LNG expansion for years, arguing that new long-term export infrastructure locks in fossil fuel dependence for decades — well past the window scientists say is needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
The Other Side of the Debate
Proponents of Ksi Lisims push back on that framing. They argue that Canadian LNG is cleaner than coal — which Germany and other European nations have turned to as a stopgap — and that replacing dirtier energy sources globally could result in a net emissions benefit.
The Nisga'a Nation, which has a stake in the project, has also emphasized the economic development potential, pointing to the limited options historically available to remote Indigenous communities in northern B.C.
It's a genuine tension at the heart of Canadian energy policy: how to balance immediate economic needs and Indigenous self-determination with long-term climate commitments.
What It Means for Canada's Climate Goals
The federal government has pledged to cut Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. With projects like Ksi Lisims potentially adding millions of tonnes of new emissions to the national ledger, hitting that target becomes an increasingly steep climb.
Ottawa (the city) may be far from the LNG terminals of northwestern B.C., but Canada's climate promises are made — and will be judged — nationally. Decisions made in Victoria and on Parliament Hill will shape whether the country can credibly claim to be a climate leader while simultaneously expanding fossil fuel export capacity.
The debate over Ksi Lisims is far from settled, and the numbers from CBC News are sure to add fuel to that fire.
Source: CBC News
