An oil industry advocate is furious the City of Calgary didn’t have any industry representatives at their annual climate change conference..Deirdra Garyk has written a letter to Mayor Naheed Nenshi and other city council members demanding an answer as to why there were no oil and gas contributors in the 3,000 participants in the two-day conference March 25-26..“I attended the City-sponsored annual Climate Symposium last week that discussed how climate change is impacting Calgary and what innovative solutions could be implemented. These issues are top-of-mind for many, and it’s not the overall topic that I’m concerned about; it’s some of the speakers,” wrote Garyk in her EnergyNow blog..It was titled “Is the City of Calgary giving the “middle finger” to the the oil and gas industry?”.She said the keynote speaker wasBruce Lourie – the Toronto-based Ivey Foundation president, who helped form the Task Force for a Resilient Recovery and played a role in Ontario’s Green Energy Act..Garyk noted other speakers included Ed Whittingham – the former Executive Director of the Pembina Institute “who became famous when he encountered backlash after being appointed to the Alberta Energy Regulator’s Board by the NDP.”.Staff from the Pembina Institute also presented, with Garyk describing them as an organization “that’s actively campaigned against the fossil fuel sector.”.“What was noticeably missing from the roster were members from Calgary’s oil and gas industry that are working on innovations while providing the city and the country with reliable, affordable energy,” Garyk wrote..“In fairness, there were two staff from ATCO discussing the topic ‘Innovation and Decarbonization in Natural Gas Distribution’, which was a fascinating presentation on the technology their company is working on in the fields of hydrogen and renewable natural gas; it’s important research and something all Calgarians should be proud of.”.“However, that is not the only innovative work being done by Calgary-based energy companies. Why wasn’t there a presentation from such organizations such the Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN) or Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA)? Were they given an opportunity to present but chose not to? If so, did they feel welcomed to the symposium?”.“The City needs to engage with the oil and gas sector to help with the economic recovery and the energy transition. Yes, the City has to be innovative, but not at the expense of the industry and the people that made Calgary what it is today. The climate strategy needs to include and work closely with the oil and gas sector.”.Garyk warned members of the oil and gas industry might take their frustrations out on council in voting against them in the upcoming October elections..“If Council doesn’t support oil and gas workers, maybe oil and gas workers shouldn’t support Council, especially those members who are running for re-election in October. Calgarians should be asking their current council member and anyone running in the October municipal election some hard questions about their support for the oil and gas sector, especially in light of the of invited speakers to this symposium and lack of representation from the oil and gas industry.”.Late Tuesday, the city replied to the Western Standard for comment..“The City of Calgary hosted the annual Calgary Climate Symposium to increase awareness of local climate risks and causes as well as knowledge of practical climate mitigation and adaptation actions for citizens; increase opportunities for sharing of best practices and innovative solutions to climate resilience for the Calgary business community; and explore how Calgary can leverage economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic to unlock new business opportunities and strengthen climate change resilience,” said a statement.“The City sought out experts who could deliver content for the two-day virtual event based on the goals of this year’s Symposium, which focused on practical actions for citizens and solutions to climate resilience for the Calgary business community-at-large, to help reduce emissions and risk to climate impacts within Calgary. The City of Calgary collaborated with a broad spectrum of organizations with diverse perspectives to support and deliver this year’s Calgary Climate Symposium including the Alberta Council for Environmental Education, Alberta Ecotrust, ATCO, BILD Calgary, BOMA Calgary, Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, Calgary Airport Authority, ENMAX, the Pembina Institute, the University of Calgary and more.”.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
An oil industry advocate is furious the City of Calgary didn’t have any industry representatives at their annual climate change conference..Deirdra Garyk has written a letter to Mayor Naheed Nenshi and other city council members demanding an answer as to why there were no oil and gas contributors in the 3,000 participants in the two-day conference March 25-26..“I attended the City-sponsored annual Climate Symposium last week that discussed how climate change is impacting Calgary and what innovative solutions could be implemented. These issues are top-of-mind for many, and it’s not the overall topic that I’m concerned about; it’s some of the speakers,” wrote Garyk in her EnergyNow blog..It was titled “Is the City of Calgary giving the “middle finger” to the the oil and gas industry?”.She said the keynote speaker wasBruce Lourie – the Toronto-based Ivey Foundation president, who helped form the Task Force for a Resilient Recovery and played a role in Ontario’s Green Energy Act..Garyk noted other speakers included Ed Whittingham – the former Executive Director of the Pembina Institute “who became famous when he encountered backlash after being appointed to the Alberta Energy Regulator’s Board by the NDP.”.Staff from the Pembina Institute also presented, with Garyk describing them as an organization “that’s actively campaigned against the fossil fuel sector.”.“What was noticeably missing from the roster were members from Calgary’s oil and gas industry that are working on innovations while providing the city and the country with reliable, affordable energy,” Garyk wrote..“In fairness, there were two staff from ATCO discussing the topic ‘Innovation and Decarbonization in Natural Gas Distribution’, which was a fascinating presentation on the technology their company is working on in the fields of hydrogen and renewable natural gas; it’s important research and something all Calgarians should be proud of.”.“However, that is not the only innovative work being done by Calgary-based energy companies. Why wasn’t there a presentation from such organizations such the Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN) or Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA)? Were they given an opportunity to present but chose not to? If so, did they feel welcomed to the symposium?”.“The City needs to engage with the oil and gas sector to help with the economic recovery and the energy transition. Yes, the City has to be innovative, but not at the expense of the industry and the people that made Calgary what it is today. The climate strategy needs to include and work closely with the oil and gas sector.”.Garyk warned members of the oil and gas industry might take their frustrations out on council in voting against them in the upcoming October elections..“If Council doesn’t support oil and gas workers, maybe oil and gas workers shouldn’t support Council, especially those members who are running for re-election in October. Calgarians should be asking their current council member and anyone running in the October municipal election some hard questions about their support for the oil and gas sector, especially in light of the of invited speakers to this symposium and lack of representation from the oil and gas industry.”.Late Tuesday, the city replied to the Western Standard for comment..“The City of Calgary hosted the annual Calgary Climate Symposium to increase awareness of local climate risks and causes as well as knowledge of practical climate mitigation and adaptation actions for citizens; increase opportunities for sharing of best practices and innovative solutions to climate resilience for the Calgary business community; and explore how Calgary can leverage economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic to unlock new business opportunities and strengthen climate change resilience,” said a statement.“The City sought out experts who could deliver content for the two-day virtual event based on the goals of this year’s Symposium, which focused on practical actions for citizens and solutions to climate resilience for the Calgary business community-at-large, to help reduce emissions and risk to climate impacts within Calgary. The City of Calgary collaborated with a broad spectrum of organizations with diverse perspectives to support and deliver this year’s Calgary Climate Symposium including the Alberta Council for Environmental Education, Alberta Ecotrust, ATCO, BILD Calgary, BOMA Calgary, Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, Calgary Airport Authority, ENMAX, the Pembina Institute, the University of Calgary and more.”.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
