BC GHG emissions: Current and 2030 legislated target

The great need to utilize the carbon sequestration capacity of BC forests to mitigate climate change is illustrated by the graph below. In 2008, BC enacted legislation setting a target for provincial emissions reduction by 2030. The most gradual pathway to that target is illustrated by the green line. BC's actual emissions—at least the ones BC has decided to count—have continued largely unabated, however, as illustrated by the red line below. Logging of BC forests during that time created far more carbon emissions than burning hydrocarbons produced. As well, logging contributed to 60 percent of the loss of forest carbon sequestration capacity during that time, having nearly as great an impact on net emissions than all non-forestry-related activities. While the Province tracks forest-related emissions and loss of carbon sequestration capacity, it currently has no plans to conserve forests to mitigate climate change.