First Nations group to sell carbon offsets from the Great Bear Rainforest

A First Nations group will sell carbon offsets from the Great Bear Rainforest to fuel local economic development.  Under the plan, reports the Globe and Mail, revenue from the carbon offsets from trees that absorb carbon would be split between Coastal First Nations and the province, said coastal nations spokesperson Art Sterritt . “It is part of a plan that we have been putting together over the last dozen years.” The rainforest comprises about six million hectares of land from Alaska to the tip of Vancouver Island. It’s unknown how much the income from the offsets would be, but estimates put revenues at about $1 million per year. Funds would go to forest management and investment in other ventures, such as ecotourism and aquaculture.

BC Hydro has submitted its Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Site C energy project to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office, an important milestone for the Site C project. The impact statement describes the project rationale, potential effects and proposed measures to avoid or mitigate these effects. It also includes the benefits Site C would provide to customers, Aboriginal and northern communities and the province as a whole, a press release says. The proposed Site C project requires environmental certification and other regulatory permits and approvals before construction begins. In addition to this, the Crown has a duty to consult and, where appropriate, accommodate First Nations. The proposed project is a third dam and hydroelectric generating station on the Peace River in northeast B.C. Site C would provide 1,100 megawatts (MW) of capacity, and produce about 5,100 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity each year, enough energy to power the equivalent of about 450,000 homes per year.