Transparency, collaboration, public participation and better planning are key to developing broadly acceptable laws and policies for renewable electricity generation in British Columbia, including “Independent Power Projects”, or IPPs.
These were key themes from the “Emerging Solutions for Clean Green Power in BC” dialogue forum – a standing-room-only event at Vancouver’s Wosk Centre for Dialogue on January 11, 2010. The dialogue was the inaugural event in West Coast Environment Law’s “Dialogues for Legal Innovation Series,” and focused on concrete legal and policy solutions to improve BC’s approach to clean electricity generation.
Moderated by West Coast’s Executive Director and Senior Counsel, Jessica Clogg, the dialogue brought together three guest presenters and 14 participants representing a broad cross section of communities, businesses, academia, and NGOs, as well as government representatives in a moderated discussion before a large public audience. (The guest presenters and dialogue participants are listed at the end of this document).
The dialogue event was a continuation of an ongoing consensus building process, including a set of recommendations for new approaches to clean electricity in BC that was released in December 2009. The Recommendations for Responsible Clean Energy Development in British Columbia were co-authored by West Coast Environmental Law, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, the Pembina Institute and the David Suzuki Foundation, and endorsed by 23 other conservation groups.