Province sweetens the pot for businesses aiming to cut pollution

Credit: Courtesy of Pretium Resources

With support from the CleanBC Industry Fund, Vancouver-headquartered Pretium Resources is replacing the diesel mine-haul trucks at its Brucejack Mine with electric vehicles like this one

Besides footing up to 90 percent of the bill for emissions reduction projects it backs in 2021, B.C. becomes the first province to set sectoral greenhouse gas targets

If you have any doubt that industry is on board with the B.C. government’s climate change battle, ask Jacques Perron.

As part of the Province’s recent announcement that it’s setting sectoral greenhouse gas (GHG) targets and boosting support for cleantech and other businesses aiming to curb emissions, the president and CEO of Pretium Resources explained how his Vancouver-based mining company is benefiting from the CleanBC Industry Fund.

“By working together with government, Pretium Resources has the opportunity to reduce emissions and build on our low-carbon advantage that the hydroelectric power grid provides,” said Perron, whose project is one of 19 backed by the 2020 edition of the fund. “Through the CleanBC Industry Fund, we have initiated the process to introduce battery-electric mine-haul trucks as a replacement for the diesel-fuelled fleet of trucks at the Brucejack Mine.”

Transportation is one of four sectors covered in B.C.’s new GHG emissions targets, which are a first for any Canadian province. The other three: industry, oil and gas, and buildings and communities. The targets, expressed as a range of five percentage points, have been established for 2030. The provincial government said it will review them by 2025, with the option to expand into new sectors and narrow the percentage ranges.

The Province is also accelerating investment in CleanBC projects to cut pollution, drive cleantech innovation and jobs, and meet rising global demand for low-carbon products, it said.

“British Columbia is leading the way forward in Canada by setting sectoral targets that will help increase accountability and clarity for each sector, as we work together to reach a world of net-zero emissions,” said Colleen Giroux-Schmidt, vice-president, corporate relations, with Innergex Renewable Energy and co-chair of B.C.’s Climate Solutions Council. “By investing in new opportunities to reduce emissions through cleaner technologies and energy efficiency, B.C. can build a better future that supports people in communities across the province.”

For 2021, the Province has launched a new round of applications for emissions-reduction projects through the CleanBC Industry Fund. In a temporary change to encourage more proposals, it will cover up to 90 percent of costs, with a cap of $25 million per project.

The fund also has a new stream—dubbed the Innovation Accelerator—that will back industry projects using advanced cleantech solutions to tackle tough emissions problems.

The Province invested $33 million in the CleanBC Industry Fund during 2020, with industry and partners contributing another $51 million to the 19 projects. Over the next decade, that combined funding will eliminate 1.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the government estimates. Think of it as the equivalent of taking about 390,000 cars off the road for a year.