OTTAWA — Newly minted Atmosphere Minister Steven Guilbeault mentioned Wednesday there may be nothing “actually new“ within the political rhetoric between Alberta and Ottawa round local weather change this week, and shrugged off any suggestion his appointment will make that relationship tougher than it already is.
Guilbeault is a former environmental activist from Quebec who has known as the oilsands “soiled” and argued that pipelines and oil and gasoline growth aren’t suitable with assembly Canada’s local weather objectives.
Elected in 2019, he was appointed to cupboard however to not the surroundings publish many anticipated. As a substitute, he spent the final two years as minister of heritage whereas former cleantech CEO Jonathan Wilkinson shepherded by net-zero local weather laws and stronger greenhouse gasoline targets within the Atmosphere Division.
There was discuss in 2019 that Guilbeault’s appointment would have rubbed salt within the open sore that was the Ottawa-Alberta relationship. However that every one modified Tuesday when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau majorly shook up his internal circle, transferring Wilkinson to Pure Assets and Guilbeault into Atmosphere.
It was not, Guilbeault insists, at his demand.
“I used to be by no means promised something and I by no means requested for something both,” he mentioned in an interview with The Canadian Press.
However rub salt within the wound it has, with Conservative MPs crucial of the choice and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney warning that Guilbeault’s appointment to the surroundings portfolio despatched a “problematic message” to his province about Ottawa’s plans for the oil and gasoline sector. He known as Guilbeault’s “private background and observe file” on local weather and oil and gasoline regarding.
Guilbeault dismissed any suggestion he’ll make the job of Ottawa-Alberta relations extra thorny, pushing again along with his personal criticism of Kenney for skipping the United Nations COP26 local weather talks that begin subsequent week in Scotland.
“I’m dissatisfied that Jason Kenney gained’t be in Glasgow, different premiers will probably be there,” he mentioned in a post-cabinet scrum Wednesday.
And he mentioned Kenney utilizing his appointment to choose a combat with Ottawa on local weather motion is simply new lyrics to the identical previous tune.
“Alberta has been attempting to choose a combat with us on local weather for fairly a while,” he informed The Canadian Press.
“They’ve taken us to court docket on carbon pricing, they’re taking us to court docket on environmental impression evaluation. There’s nothing actually new or shocking about that.”
Canada’s local weather plan additionally isn’t altering with him in cost, mentioned Guilbeault, noting it was not secret earlier than and it’s not secret now that the plan is to curb emissions from each sector, together with oil and gasoline.
Amongst his first priorities will probably be legislating or regulating an emissions cap on oil and gasoline, after which setting targets to power them downward over the subsequent 30 years, in five-year increments.
The small print of how and when are but to be developed however Guilbeault mentioned Wednesday the cap will probably be set at “present emissions” and go down from there.
The oil and gasoline business produced nearly 200 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2019, greater than one-quarter of Canada’s whole emissions. Catherine Abreu, govt director of Vacation spot Zero, mentioned local weather motion gained’t achieve success with out getting these down.
She mentioned the political will to do it has not been there earlier than.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has as an alternative tried to stability help for the fossil gas sector with local weather coverage, with out a lot success. Canada’s emissions are possible decrease than they might have been with out Trudeau’s local weather insurance policies, however they’re nonetheless about seven million tonnes increased than they had been when he took workplace.
Virtually all of that development is because of oil and gasoline extraction and street transportation.
Guilbeault’s first job will probably be to promote Canada’s local weather plan on the worldwide stage. On Monday, the United Nations COP26 local weather talks kick off in Glasgow.
Guilbeault is not any stranger to COP conferences — this will probably be his nineteenth. But it surely’s his first from the federal government aspect of the desk. He mentioned Canada, like everybody else on the earth, must do extra to sluggish world warming, and that’s the message Canada will probably be pushing in Scotland.
The COP26 conferences, delayed one yr by COVID-19, are meant to finalize the rule e book for the Paris accord, together with on such issues as how carbon emissions buying and selling can work between international locations, and what every nation has to report about progress towards local weather objectives.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
