Recent comments by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright over how “oil, gas, and coal are what run the world” should send shockwaves through those watching from Canada’s energy sector, as Prime Minister Mark Carney seemingly remains set on pursuing a “net-zero” agenda.Speaking at a Goldman Sachs conference on Wednesday, Wright highlighted how 72% of energy consumption came from two sources in the US — oil and natural gas.“[It] doesn’t quite sound like the dying industry I've been hearing about for the last 15 years,” Wright said..He went on to highlight the stark contrast in the electricity sector: “Surging investments, gigantic amounts of money are flowing in. And what's been the net result of that? Almost no growth at all in the production of electricity, but significant growth in the price of electricity.”“If you make electricity more expensive and people don't know where that policy is going to go, guess what? Energy-intensive industry leaves your country. Germany and the UK are experts at that,” he stated.Wright’s remarks carry a chilling warning for Canadians.Under Carney, the federal government has aggressively pursued a net-zero agenda that mirrors many of the same pitfalls Wright describes and that have affected other Western nations in the recent past.While Carney has scrapped the consumer carbon tax, industrial emitters remain subject to caps, the cost of which is ultimately passed along to Canadian businesses and households.Germany’s attempt at an energy transition saw that country invest half a trillion dollars to double its electricity grid capacity, shut down all of its nuclear plants, and then later had to rely on intermittent renewables supplemented by coal — especially lignite (brown coal). The outcome was not what the politicians spouting the green energy policy talking points would have bragged about — 20% less electricity ended up being produced, and household prices skyrocketed to among the highest in Europe as GDP stagnated, and the country saw an exodus of factories to Asia.Michael Lucci, founder and CEO of State Armor, said on X in regards to Germany’s failed policies that the country’s “GDP hasn’t grown for 6 years, its electricity costs are soaring and its factory jobs are collapsing... Complete policy failure.”.“Germany’s climate delusions and industrial self-sabotage will be written into history books,” he stated.Former investment banker and World Economic Forum (WEF) insider Desiree Fixler also said that Germany’s net-zero policy failed colossally, pointing out that the result was “more unemployment and higher costs.”“There is no climate emergency, but there are corrupt politicians and NGOs benefiting from this climate hoax,” Fixler wrote on X..Canada now faces similar economic and structural risks.While Ottawa has poured $158 billion into green initiatives since 2014, the green sector’s contribution to GDP has barely grown — from 3.1% in 2014 to 3.6% in 2023.At the same time, pipeline politics and delays in moving Alberta’s oil to global markets have undermined energy security, especially in the wake of the American capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and President Donald Trump’s recent remarks that US companies, such as Chevron, will be leading a rebuild of the Venezuelan oil sector, potentially threatening Canada’s heavy crude exports in the future.Carney’s promise to make Canada an “energy superpower” remains largely aspirational.He recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on energy with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in late November to possibly clear the way for a privately financed, indigenous co-owned Pacific Coast bitumen pipeline.Yet not long after, his own Liberal caucus blocked a Conservative motion in the House of Commons calling for a new pipeline to the BC coast.Observers have warned that unless Canada changes its approach and political leaders get on the same page, the country risks repeating Germany’s mistakes with soaring costs, industrial flight, and hollow climate victories already being felt by average Canadians and likely to get worse before light is seen at the end of the tunnel..OPEC chief backs Alberta oil sector, blasts ‘unrealistic’ net-zero targets.Robert Lyman, retired energy economist, has noted that Canadians are already paying far more for climate policies than citizens in many other countries."The total federal and provincial expenditures on climate measures over the period 2020 to 2030 as listed by the Carbon Policy Tracker are $476 billion or $11,900 per resident of Canada," Lyman said. "This equates to roughly $28,000 per household (i.e. an average of $2,800 per household per year)."Tegan Hill and Elmira Aliakbari of the Fraser Institute wrote that the Liberal government’s current policies will more than likely sink the Canadian economy.They cite a 2024 Deloitte study that showed from 2030 to 2040, “the cap will shrink the Canadian economy (measured by inflation-adjusted GDP) by $280 billion and result in lower wages, job losses, and a decline in tax revenue.”As Wright summarized on Wednesday, “We have just gotten so far off track. I think we are in the midst of the greatest mal-investment in human history... $10 trillion on a global base has been invested nominally in fighting climate change."“What are you getting for $10 trillion? We got solar up to 1.2% of global energy and wind at 1.4%. Collectively, 2.6% of global energy comes from these sources that $10 trillion of investment has gone into.”Unfortunately for Canadians, it doesn’t look like Ottawa will be changing its tune anytime soon.“Mark Carney is still Mark Carney,” Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, has said.“From his banking career to his time at the mega-firm Brookfield, from his role as the UN Special Envoy for Climate Leadership and Finance to founding the (now collapsed) Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). He has spent his entire career working towards a net-zero global economy, no matter how disastrous this would be for the world generally and Canada specifically.”
