Canadian energy leaders warn against ‘self-sacrifice' on climate policy

CALGARY — Energy sector leaders who gathered at the Calgary Petroleum Club on Thursday argued that while there is a need for lower-carbon development, they warned that affordability, reliability, and oil and gas investment cannot be sidelined in the push to reduce emissions.The panel, which was moderated by Lisa Mueller (President and CEO of FutEra Power Corp.), featured Heather Exner-Pirot (Senior Fellow and Director of Energy, Natural Resources and Environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute), Karen Ogen (CEO of First Nations Natural Gas Alliance), Trevor Ebl (President of Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines, TC Energy), and Bryan Gould (Founder and Executive Chair of Aspenleaf Energy). They were asked whether Canada had a moral obligation to pursue low-carbon development regardless of global trends, and whether emerging technologies can coexist with large-scale oil and gas investment.Gould stated that he believed the national conversation around climate change has become polarized and lacks nuance.“I think the discussion on climate change is horribly broken,” Gould stated.“The reality is that the rest of the world is going to do what it’s doing. Emissions are going up, and the developed world is not gonna change that.”He also noted that global emissions growth is largely driven by developing economies, suggesting Canadian action would have limited impact on overall global totals.“Emissions are now dominated by the developing world, that's the reality, and we can choose to look at that reality or not,” Gould stated..According to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s National Inventory Report, the country accounts for roughly 1.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.While that places Canada among the top global emitters on a per-capita basis, it remains far behind major emission sources such as China, India, and the United States.Government figures also show emissions from emerging economies have grown sharply over the past two decades.For example, China’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased by more than 80% since 2005 — a trend often cited by industry voices arguing that global outcomes are increasingly shaped outside Western economies.“For the life of me, I cannot understand why Canadians would wanna self-sacrifice on this altar when the rest of the world isn’t going to follow,” Gould said.Canadian industry data also shows significant reductions in emissions intensity over the last two decades..According to the Canadian Centre for Energy Information, greenhouse gas intensity per barrel in the oil sands has declined by roughly 36% since 2000, even as overall production has increased.Ebl said he believes technological innovation — including electrification, methane reductions and carbon capture — will be critical to maintaining competitiveness with the rest of the globe going forward.He pointed to forecasts suggesting Canadian gas demand could grow by up to 45% over the next decade under current, status quo technologies, arguing new innovation could push that growth up even further.“New technology has been a game changer that could actually drive competitiveness up even more and upsize that curve,” he said, adding that he believed the market, and not policymakers, should determine value.“Look at the market and let the market tell you. Has the world paid a premium for an LNG cargo that was produced with lower emissions? I don’t think that’s the case,” Ebl said, questioning whether buyers are willing to pay more for lower-carbon production.“If we’re not getting a premium price, the market is a good indicator of whether something helps us or hurts us.”

Canadian energy leaders warn against ‘self-sacrifice' on climate policy

Related Stories