Cleaner industry

Through CleanBC, government is working with industry and others across the province to reduce pollution, improve efficiency and adopt new technologies. We're also supporting new opportunities for clean, low-carbon growth that are globally competitive and build on B.C.'s clean energy and clean tech advantages.

The global market for clean energy, technologies, products and services is valued in the trillions of dollars and B.C.'s clean industries have a head start on meeting demand.

Two people in hard hats stand in front of a factory being powered by clean electricity.

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Find funding and programs

Industry in 2030

By 2030, B.C. has committed to reduce province-wide emissions to 40 percent below levels recorded in 2007. As part of the plan to achieve this,  B.C. has set targets to reduce emissions in the oil and gas and industrial sectors. The CleanBC Roadmap to 2030 (PDF, 9.2MB) maps out the most promising routes to reach these targets and sets the course to fulfill our net-zero commitment by 2050.

Here are some ways industry could look different in 2030 based on the Roadmap to 2030:

  • New large industrial facilities are required to develop plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050
  • Methane emissions from oil and gas are reduced by 75 percent by 2030, and nearly all industrial methane emissions are eliminated by 2035
  • 300 million trees planted to grow B.C.’s carbon sinks

Reducing B.C.'s industrial emissions

B.C. is working to create the cleanest industries in the world through support programs, regulations and expanded access to clean energy.

The CleanBC Program for Industry

Program update: As part of Budget 2023, the Government of British Columbia announced a transition to an output-based carbon pricing system by 2024. This new made-in-B.C. output-based pricing system (B.C. OBPS) will ensure emissions reductions for industry continue while also providing flexible options, such as earned credits and carbon offset units to meet compliance obligations. 

To align with the new B.C. OBPS, the CleanBC Program for Industry will undergo a transition throughout 2023.

CleanBC Industrial Incentive Program: 

The CleanBC Industrial Incentive Program will remain in place for a transition year (2023) with B.C. OBPS implementation starting in April 2024. Further details about the system and performance standards will be available later this summer.

The CleanBC Industry Fund:

The CleanBC Industry Fund (the Fund), which supports industrial emissions reductions projects, will remain in place but will undergo its own transition in 2023 as it works to align with the new B.C. OBPS. A new Fund program is expected to launch in spring 2024.

There will not be a 2023 Fund call for proposals for Emission Performance or Innovation Accelerator. The Fund has a significant number of high-quality, shovel-ready projects on the waitlist. As the program works to transition and to align with the new system, 2023 CleanBC Industry Fund funding will be put towards these waitlisted projects. A call for Feasibility Studies will be launched in spring 2023.  

Please continue to check back as more details become available.


Reducing and storing industrial emissions

  • As part of the Roadmap to 2030, all new large industrial facilities will be required to submit plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050
  • Industrial carbon capture and storage can keep large amounts of emissions out of the atmosphere by storing carbon underground or recycling it into cleaner energy. As part of the Roadmap to 2030, B.C. will develop a provincial approach to guide the deployment of these emerging technologies 

Industrial electrification

  • Under the Clean Energy Act at least 93 percent of electricity generated in B.C. must be from clean or renewable sources. Under the Roadmap to 2030, B.C. will adopt a 100 percent Clean Electricity Standard. BC Hydro currently generates 98 percent clean electricity
  • BC Hydro has completed the second phase of the Peace Region Electricity Supply project, increasing capacity to the South Peace region 
  • BC Hydro and government are acting on recommendations under Phase 2 of the BC Hydro Review. This includes speeding up connections to the electricity grid and supporting the switch to clean power for more industries and businesses

Reducing emissions from natural gas

  • In 2020, new provincial regulations came into effect to reduce methane emissions in the upstream production of natural gas by 45 percent by 2025. As part of the Roadmap to 2030, B.C. will introduce stronger policies that will reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 75 percent by 2030 and nearly eliminate all industrial methane emissions by 2035
  • Under the Roadmap to 2030, B.C. will introduce a cap on greenhouse gas emissions for natural gas utilities, encouraging new investment in low-carbon technologies and fuels as well as energy efficiency
  • FortisBC’s Clean Growth Innovation Fund supports advances in clean technologies like renewable natural gas, carbon and methane capture with $4.9 million per year in funding for four years. FortisBC has pledged to reduce its customers' emissions 30 percent by 2030

Supporting clean growth

B.C. is supporting the adoption of cleaner technology and is working with industrial partners to create new business opportunities at home and internationally.

Low carbon products and services

  • The Province and Business Council of British Columbia are developing a Low Carbon Industrial Strategy to boost business investment and build a low-carbon brand for B.C.
  • B.C. offset projects are a way to invest in emission reduction projects that bring co-benefits and jobs to B.C. and accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy. Purchasers apply the reductions from these projects towards their own emissions targets              
  • As part of the Roadmap to 2030, a new Forest Carbon Offset protocol will expand access to the carbon-offset market for Indigenous peoples and forest companies
  • Budget 2023 announced the 2024 implementation of a new made-in-B.C. output-based pricing system (B.C. OBPS) which will continue to support significant emission reductions within the industrial sector while keeping businesses competitive. 

Resource-based economy

As B.C. moves to a clean economy, our forests, farms and other natural resources are a source of new opportunities for low-carbon growth. The Province is working with these industries to identify climate-friendly business opportunities and prepare for the effects of a changing climate.

Increasing sustainable forest use

  • B.C.’s Forest Carbon Initiative increases the use of residual wood, improves the use of forest fibre and promotes sustainable forestry. The program has led to an immediate reduction in emissions by diverting fibre that is typically burned
  • Through its Wood First Initiative, B.C. is encouraging the use of wood and wood products for building. Wood buildings create fewer emissions and store carbon
  • B.C. and partners are working to increase the use of mass timber, which can have lower emissions compared to concrete and steel construction. Through the Mass Timber Action Plan, the province is working to grow the industry, create good jobs and support communities by engaging with First Nations partners, training new workers, modernizing regulations, and profiling mass timber to national and global markets
  • The Indigenous Forest Bioeconomy Program, partners with First Nations across B.C. to pursue projects that use wood waste or other parts of trees instead of petrochemicals or other high-carbon materials. Budget 2022 announced $22 million over three years to expand the program
  • As part of the Roadmap to 2030, B.C. plans to eliminate nearly all slash pile burning by 2030

Preparing for climate impacts

  • The Province is helping natural resource professionals manage for a changing climate by gathering and analyzing climate data, developing decision-making tools and researching best management practices
  • B.C. uses climate-based seed transfer to choose tree seeds for reforestation that are from species well-suited to an area’s present and future climate

Building a resilient agriculture 
industry

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For industry and businesses

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