Essay by Eric Worrall
The Trudeau government is trying to convince people that black sand oil can be a climate-friendly fuel.
Record oil exports test Trudeau’s climate change ambitions
May 4, 2022
VIA: BLOOMBERGCanada is becoming more and more dependent on fossil fuels, even as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seeks to strengthen the country’s policies on climate change.
Oil, natural gas, coal and refined Petroleum exports hit a one-month record of 17.4 billion Canadian dollars ($13.6 billion) in March, according to data released Wednesday by Statistics Canada. Total shipment value was around C$150 billion over the past 12 months – also a record.
As a share of total merchandise exports, the fossil fuel industry accounted for 27.4% of exports in March – in line with an all-time high set under the former Prime Minister. Stephen Harper in 2014.
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“Canada has decided through its policy actions that an aggressive decarbonization strategy is a better path to net zero than ceding the market to dirtier suppliers. Oil and Gas,” speak Ed Greenspon, CEO of the Public Policy Forum, an Ottawa-based think tank, argued against an accelerated period in a March report. “As an exporter, this is good news for the Canadian economy. As a reliable exporter, that is good news for the world economy.”
Trudeau government’s plan to meet climate goals is based on cutting emissions from 42% Oil and Gas the field for the next eight years. It largely relies on technical innovations – such as carbon capture – while still allowing the kegs to be pumped, much to the outrage of environmentalists.
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I can’t help but think that this is not the kind of green government that Trudeau voters hoped for in the last election. But as Trudeau once said, “No country has found 173 billion barrels of oil in the ground and left it there”.
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