An opportunity exists to identify current best practices with respect to airshed, marine, aquatic, and other non-carbon impacts of LNG development and compare them with current industry proposals. This will help ensure that the proposed British Columbia industry, if developed, will embrace and exceed world-leading ecosystem-protection standards.
With respect to carbon pollution—the scope of this report—the following three research areas would refine this analysis and provide information to better inform a world leading greenhouse gas emission profile for LNG.
- Refine natural gas production and transportation emission reduction opportunities: This report estimates carbon reduction potential, but it’s unclear what exact mix of technologies would reduce emissions in the Horn River basin and Montney field. Additional research, in coordination with government and industry, could identify the technologies that would enable B.C. to lead the world in low carbon LNG.
- Policies: Government policy will likely be necessary to drive industry adoption of these technologies. A policy analysis that considers environmental effectiveness, cost, and technical feasibility would help identify likely policy options and priorities.
- Costs: Costs (including capital and operating, and intangible) should be calculated for different technology options. Energy efficient technologies in the natural gas industry are often not adopted despite short payback periods because the technologies are typically considered “risky,” don’t work in certain applications, or require new learning. These intangible costs should also be estimated because they provide a more realistic estimate of the true cost of adopting new technology.
