For the record given the vulnerabilities to price, softening demand, increase fires, floods, extreme weather and science calling for steep declines in emissions and production now to keep us safe, not making a plan for production decline is a failure to protect the public good.2/
Alberta and Canada can diversify our economy and exports but we need governments to focus policy and money on competitiveness studies, renewable energy, retrofitting, electrification, agriculture, film, tourism, high tech etc &stop throwing billions at big oil and gas companies3/
No one is saying shut it down overnight but we must stop expanding production and infrastructure and focus on building cleaner, safer projects that will help us be more resilient and less vulnerable to price shocks. Would have the added bonus of not adding to our toxic burden too
Trudeau & Kenney’s willingness to spend billions of taxpayers dollars on projects predicated on $85 barrel oil when the price now is $4.18 is a scandal. How about we use those billions for income security for workers? Or medical supplies? Or clean water for indigenous communities
It’s a failure to govern for the public good of epic proportions and a complete failure of the imagination - just because oil and gas is what helped to ensure our prosperity in the past does not mean it is what we must cling to in the future.
Yes Canada will produce oil & gas for years to come but if you are an elected politician today in Canada & you are not publicly acknowledging that how much we produce will have to decline &we must plan for that & leave no worker behind, than you fail to have the courage to lead.
And while I am at it, no we should not in Canada be giving public money to companies to help them “decarbonization oil”. Numerous studies show direct low carbon investments not “grey”carbon clean tech - have better monetary and ghg’s returns.
If a company wants to invest more billions in CCS to try & scale at cost...have at it - but we don’t have time & don’t need to invest more in fossil fuels when renewables at scale & electrification can do job without poisoning communities or making us dependent finite resources
Also let’s not forget .... a major solar spill? Well that’s just a sunny day
Whew I feel better.
