Last month, British Columbia’s climate leadership took a hit — not because of wildfires or drought, but because of numbers that don’t hold up. BC’s Carbon counting is off.
The Auditor General’s latest report reveals something serious: the provincial government relied on flawed carbon modeling to report its emissions reductions. In some cases, those reductions were more hopeful than real. Especially concerning? The underestimation of emissions linked to forestry.
It’s not a rounding error. It’s a systemic gap between what the province says is happening and what is actually taking place in our forests.
Why it matters
British Columbia’s forests are often described as a natural climate solution. But when carbon accounting fails to reflect the full impact of logging — or overstates the benefits of certain climate actions — it undermines both public trust and the integrity of our climate targets.
The forest sector is responsible for significant emissions, particularly when old trees are cut down. These emissions don’t just vanish in a spreadsheet. They linger in the atmosphere — and in some cases, they’re completely unaccounted for.
This report doesn’t just raise technical questions. It points to a deeper issue: we are still trying to solve the climate crisis on paper, while the real crisis plays out in ecosystems that can’t afford delay.
A dangerous illusion of progress
Carbon modeling is a powerful tool, but it only works when it’s tied to physical reality. In BC’s case, the models used to project emission reductions were overly optimistic — especially in the forestry sector. The report describes inconsistencies, unsupported assumptions, and a lack of transparency.
Meanwhile, logging continues in old-growth forests that took centuries to form — and seconds to fall. These aren’t theoretical trees on a balance sheet. They are living systems that stabilize climate, filter water, store carbon, and support culture and biodiversity.
When we treat carbon as an abstract number rather than a reflection of what’s happening on the ground, we risk building policy on fiction.
What we need instead
Real climate action demands clarity and courage. It means:
- Replacing optimistic forecasts with hard data
- Acknowledging the true carbon cost of logging
- Protecting what remains, permanently
At The Tree Legacy Society, we work to do exactly that. We help communities and landowners commit to long-term forest protection — not through offsets or credits, but through simple, lasting agreements that keep trees standing.
When governments get the math wrong, the consequences ripple out. But when people protect forests directly, the results are tangible — and permanent.
If you want to support climate action you can see and trust, help us grow that work. Your donation goes toward protecting forests that already exist, with no strings and no logging clauses.
Let’s make sure climate leadership in BC starts with truth — and ends with forests still standing.
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If you believe forest protection should be rooted in truth, not theory, consider supporting our work. Your donation helps us protect real trees, in real communities, for the long term. Together, we can build a legacy that counts — in more ways than one.