CALGARY — Cenovus Energy CEO Jon McKenzie has warned that federal and provincial climate policies are driving investment and capital out of Canada.The chief executive made the remarks Wednesday during a conference call following Cenovus’ first-quarter earnings results, which showed an 83% increase in profits for the Calgary-based oil and gas giant.“Energy security is national security and energy security is economic security,” McKenzie said on the call.“The world needs affordable, abundant, reliable energy from all sources.”McKenzie argued hydrocarbons will remain a major part of the global energy supply mix for decades to come, with Canada’s oil sands being among the world’s highest-quality energy resources.However, he stated that the national dialogue on further oil and gas development has been “myopically focused on the climate agenda and climate policy,” which has ignored multiple benefits brought to the country through the oil and gas sector.His comments come after six climate advocacy groups wrote a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday expressing concerns over key issues in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on energy signed by Ottawa and Alberta still being unresolved..The groups argued that Canada is stuck in “an unhelpful feedback loop of discourse” around the need for a new pipeline and the loosening of environmental regulations on the energy sector, and cited the carbon tax increase as the most important element of the MOU, suggesting the target be reached by 2030.They also added that tens of billions of dollars in low-carbon investment potentially hang in the balance.The proposed carbon tax in the MOU — which would increase the industrial carbon tax in Alberta from the current $95 per metric tonne to $130 a tonne — has been a massive source of controversy among many energy sector insiders, who say it will drive away jobs and investment and put more costs on consumers.However, proponents of the tax, such as the Canadian Climate Institute, have estimated the increase would amount to roughly 50 cents per barrel, or “about the cost of a Timbit.”“The industrial carbon tax is unique to Canada. No other major oil-producing nation in the world has one,” McKenzie said..MACLEOD: Trading US markets for EU carbon taxes and open border chaos — peak Laurentian stupidity.“The result is this tax does not incent decarbonization of the Canadian industry, but instead incents industry to invest outside of Canada. This is our time. We should be an energy superpower, and we need to take the right decisions to unlock investment and growth to the benefit of our economy and all Canadians.”McKenzie added that of the top ten global oil-producing nations in the world, Canada is recognized as “the most responsible producer across a broad range of metrics.”Currently, negotiations between Alberta and Ottawa over the MOU are ongoing, with sources close to the matter saying both parties are reportedly close to a deal on the carbon tax, but that several components of the deal — such as a proposed million-barrel-per-day pipeline to BC’s coast and support for the proposed $16.5-billion Pathways Alliance carbon capture and storage project — are still being contested.Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith are set to meet in Ottawa on Friday, but it remains to be seen if any announcements will be made regarding the MOU.
