Ontario Construction News staff writer
Alberta will not recognize any federally imposed emission-reduction targets for the energy and electricity sectors “under any circumstances: unless such targets are first consented to by the Government of Alberta.
Premier Danielle Smith was responding to comments from federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault who says he hopes the next international climate summit will end with a promise to phase out unabated fossil fuels — oil and gas projects that don’t rely on technology to capture their emissions.
Steven Guilbeault made the comment while meeting with international ministers from Europe, Mexico, India, Japan, China and other countries.
“We can make COP28 the first COP to acknowledge the need to phase out unabated fossil fuels,” Guilbeault said to reporters after his annual meeting with international counterparts on climate action in Brussels.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she was disappointed to read the federal minister’s comments about his intention to see the federal government impose a net-zero electricity mandate on all provinces for 2035 and that he continued to reference Ottawa’s planned de facto oil and gas production cut.
“Not only are the contemplated federal targets unconstitutional, they create investor uncertainty and are extremely harmful to the Alberta and Canadian economies,” Smith said in a statement. “I was also alarmed to read the minister’s belief that oil and gas production is likely to be reduced by 75 per cent by 2050.
“This belief does not align with any credible forecast of future world energy consumption, which continue to see oil and gas dominating the energy supply mix for decades to come.
Instead of seeking ways to create investor uncertainty and reduce support for Canadian energy globally, the federal government should focus on partnering with Alberta and investing in the national energy sector to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 while simultaneously increasing energy production, jobs and economic growth for Canadians, she said.
“Further, if the minister is truly committed to reducing emissions around the world, he should busy himself with assisting Western Canada to replace emissions from coal, wood and dung in Asia and Africa with clean Canadian LNG. This would result in the lower worldwide emissions he claims to want. His referenced planned phaseout of Alberta’s oil and gas sector will only result in higher net worldwide emissions, along with serious poverty and energy insecurity in Canada and abroad.”
“As we commence the federal-provincial working group on aligning Ottawa’s climate efforts with Alberta’s emissions reduction and energy development plan, I hope the Prime Minister will instruct his involved ministers to respect the rights and jurisdiction of all provinces on this and other related matters, and to do a more effective job of building investor confidence in Canada’s oil and gas sector as profitable, certain and the most environmentally responsible on Earth.
“Because it is.”