Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the British Columbia forest industry, 1990–2005

What are the drivers and determinants of technological changes related to climate change? We investigated the motivations for technological change which led to major reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the British Columbia forest industry between 1990 and 2005. We found that the technological changes that brought these reductions were induced technological changes and were characterized primarily by the adoption of ‘large leap’ (i.e., big GHG reduction) technologies. Some of the motivations for the induced changes are related to climate change (carbon neutrality, consumer demand, and corporate responsibility), others were not (cost savings, government regulation, and consumer demand). The results of our study should give policymakers more confidence to promulgate policies that stimulate invention, improvement, and adoption of GHG-reducing technologies. In addition, our study reveals how it is possible to avoid tradeoffs between economics and the environment.