Stories

January’s Environmental News Digest

January 2026

There is so much breaking news happening every day that it’s easy to miss the environmental stories you care about. That’s why we’ve rounded up the latest forest and climate news into this monthly digest! Here you’ll find articles about our campaign progress and impactful stories we’re reading to keep you up-to-date and inspired. If you want this digest sent to your inbox each month, sign up to our newsletter here.

Forest news coverage of Sierra Club BC

The Narwhal published an in-depth article on Sierra Club BC’s most recent forest report ‘Closer to the Brink’ and how the province’s old-growth data reveals a gap between political promises and what’s happening on the ground. Read it here.
Sierra Club BC Associate Director and Campaigns Director Shelley Luce was quoted in a CBC article about how B.C. municipal contributions to Canada’s 30×30 conservation goal are adding up. This includes the findings of our “Closer to the Brink” forest report. Read it here.
The authors of our ‘Closer to the Brink’ forest report were interviewed for two separate podcasts for Vancouver’s Co-op Radio and the Cortes Currents.
Our ‘Closer to the Brink’ report — which filled in huge gaps in public knowledge as to how much old-growth is left, what has been clearcut and what is protected in B.C. — was picked up by a number of media outlets including The Canadian Press and Chek News.

Climate news coverage of Sierra Club BC

SCBC Organizer David Quigg was interviewed by CTV News about the proposed oil pipeline to B.C.’s north coast and the dangers of lifting the oil tanker moratorium. Watch the interview clip here or read the article.
Campaigns Director Shelley Luce was quoted in an article by the Prince George Daily News about a shocking leaked report about the hypothetical northern pipeline to the coast of B.C. It found the federal government may be working with the premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan on this project without B.C. or Coastal First Nations.
Luce was also quoted in this National Observer article about the federal-Alberta oil pipeline MOU threatening B.C.’s coast and climate progress. Read the article.
SCBC Senior Policy and Science Advisor Jens Wieting was quoted in this CBC article about the independent review of CleanBC which shows LNG expansion undermines real climate action. Read it here.
B.C.’s latest climate accountability report shows B.C. is off track reducing climate pollution but doesn’t offer new policies to address gaps after rolling back initiatives. As Jens Wieting says in this National Observer article, “It’s irresponsible to leave people in the dark about how we’ll reach 2030 targets.” Read it here.

What we’re reading

This op-ed written by Adam Olsen published in the Tyee responds to recent questions and misinformation about reconciliation with First Nations, Indigenous rights and title, and how they related to economic certainty. Olsen also offers a path forward for politicians and the people who call B.C. home. Read it here.
Is Trans Mountain’s profitability an accounting illusion? Zoë Yunker’s latest article for The Tyee explains how the finances of Canada’s government-owned pipeline may look better than they are. An important read in the context of a newly proposed pipeline to B.C.’s north coast. Read it here.
New documents show B.C. approved logging some of the last high-risk old growth in the northwest. As renowned forest scientist Rachel Holt warns, “we are systematically losing that forest type… and many species are suffering.” Read the article via Chek News.