Over the past couple of years, we have written a lot on the waste that is the Pacific Carbon Trust. This is the corporate welfare scheme where millions are sucked out of classrooms and hospitals and handed over to big companies doing greenhouse gas emission reduction projects – all so the B.C. Government can claim that it’s carbon neutral.

But the house of cards is collapsing. The B.C. auditor general has finished a report tearing the trust to shreds. And while vested corporate interests, who care nothing for the taxpayers footing the bill, are trying to undermine and quash the report, the truth is leaking out. From the Globe and Mail:

In the document, Mr. Doyle states that his office examined two projects that accounted for nearly 70 per cent of the offsets purchased by the government in its attempt to achieve carbon neutrality.

One was the Darkwoods Forest Carbon project, which set aside forest land in southern B.C., and the other was the Encana Underbalanced Drilling project near Fort Nelson, which reduced flaring.

Mr. Doyle writes that the government’s claim of achieving carbon neutrality using those two projects “is not accurate, as neither project provided credible offsets,” and that both projects would have happened in the absence of the government’s carbon financing.

“In industry terms, they would be known as ‘free riders’ – receiving revenue ($6-million between the two) for something that would have happened anyway,” says Mr. Doyle.

He also complained the Pacific Carbon Trust leaked information about his audit while it was under way, which resulted in an “orchestrated letter-writing campaign” to government by supporters of the carbon program.

“Of all the reports I have issued, never has one been targeted in such an overt manner by vested interests, nor has an audited organization ever broken my confidence, as did the senior managers at PCT by disclosing confidential information to carbon market developers and brokers,” he stated.

The Sun had a few other details on this attempt to censor the report:

Among letters released to media by carbon industry players was one from Offsetters CEO James Tansey dated Feb. 18 that warns Bond of potential legal action because of an “unqualified and erroneous” report. Tansey called on Bond to “amend” the auditor general’s report before its release.

The letter notes that Offsetters has more than $500 million in carbon credits to broker in the next 30 years, most of them from the Great Bear Rainforest project.

“We would have no choice but to seek compensation from the government of British Columbia for revenues lost due to the misguided actions of the (office of the auditor general),” said the letter.

Taxpayers deserve the truth – TODAY.