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British Columbia (BC) has some of the most aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets in the world. The 2007 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act (GGRTA) establishes a commitment to reduce provincial emissions 33% below 2007 levels. The Carbon Governance Project workshop: Innovation, Capital and Carbon, took place in Vancouver, BC on June 1st, 2011. The workshop brought together 48 leading industry experts, scholars and government representatives to focus on understanding factors that enable and constrain the transformation to a low carbon economy in British Columbia (BC). This document summarizes the results of the workshop, focusing on the low carbon landscape in BC, and describes the key strategies identified by the participants for advancing the low carbon economy. The summary is based on materials generated during the day and results from voting by the participants to identify priorities. CGP international workshop series ; Business, Sauder School of ; Unreviewed ; Faculty

The Carbon Governance Project workshop on Innovation, Capital and Carbon took place on June 1, 2011. It brought together 48 leading industry experts, scholars and government representatives to focus on understanding factors that enable and constrain British Columbia's transformation to a low carbon economy. The majority of participants were BC business leaders, which included individuals from traditional high carbon emitting industries, clean tech firms, large banks, investment firms and consulting firms. The workshop employed an interactive format that engaged participants in setting direction, prioritizing exploration and finding consensus. This overview summarizes the findings of the workshop and describes the key strategies identified and supported by the participants for advancing the low carbon economy in BC. CGP international workshop series ; Business, Sauder School of ; Unreviewed ; Faculty

Human population growth and infrastructure development are putting unprecedented pressure on global ecosystems. Many government efforts to "command and control" the protection of ecosystems have met with limited success at best. The introduction of market-based mechanisms for embedded ecosystem services is a contemporary solution to protect and preserve some of the precious and pristine wilderness areas. This paper explores some of the marketbased mechanisms for ecosystem services in the Great Bear Rainforest (GBR), located on the North and Central Coast of British Columbia in western Canada. Carbon offsets, are used to combat climate change, have been generated from the GBR. By preventing the forest from being harvested, carbon is removed from the atmosphere and stored in the wood. Additional stored carbon can be monetized and sold to greenhouse gas emitters to offset their carbon footprint. A number of challenges were overcome to generate this carbon offset project, most notably the ownership related to unextinguished rights and title from indigenous land claims. The new nature of the market meant it was very much a learning experience for project developers and other stakeholders but also posed challenges for marketing efforts since potential buyers remain cautious due to regulatory uncertainty of greenhouse gas emission liabilities. More traditional market-based instruments are also existent in the Great Bear Rainforest. Ecotourism, hunting, logging and fishing licenses are all used extensively throughout the area. However, the price of these licenses appears to be far below true value. The proliferation of public land and provincial economic policies suppress market activity for such licenses, and appear to be the driving force behind such market imperfection. ; Business, Sauder School of ; Unreviewed ; Faculty

Risk researchers have traditionally examined technologies that have become stigmatized in the public realm. In this study, we examine a prior cognitive phenomenon, which assumes that technologies are classified according to the non-scientific taxonomies that individuals use to make sense of the world. We describe the coarse taxonomies revealed during five focus groups involving expert and non-expert participants. The study suggests that in discussions of salmon genomics, participants consistently conflate genomic research with transgenic applications. The authors discuss the implications of this phenomenon for public policy.

Beginning with the discovery of the structure of DNA, genomic sciences have expanded rapidly, and in recent years we have begun to see the products of this vast research effort translated into technologies that are beginning to impact healthcare, food production, ecosystem management and environmental remediation. While transgenic applications of genomic sciences have been controversial at times, other applications such as genetic testing have been considered more acceptable. Applications within the life sciences to improving our understanding of the processes of speciation and for exploring the role and function of genes in response to environmental change have also been valuable. It is also true to say that the gene has assumed mythical qualities in late modernity and it has an alluring mystique (Nelkin & Lindee, 2004) with broader social and political meaning loaded onto a scientific classification (Tansey & Burgess, forthcoming). Somewhat ironically, perhaps, while scientists increasingly seek to downplay the concept of genetic determinism and emphasise gene-environment interactions, proteomics and epigenetics, the concept of genetic determinism has established strong roots in popular culture and the media (Bates, 2005).