Not only are prominent scientists speaking out, but in a poll conducted by Environics Research in January 2018, it was revealed that an overwhelming number of Canadians supported the growth and development of the country’s renewable energy sources.
The majority of respondents supported renewable energy sources, such as solar (93 percent), hydroelectricity (91 percent) and wind projects (86 percent). Support for non-renewable energy, such as oil and nuclear power was considerably weaker, according to the Toronto Star.
“When participants were asked to consider potential trade-offs between affordability and the environment in Canada’s energy future, many had difficulty understanding why these goals might conflict with one another,” the report reads.
It comes down to saying there shouldn’t have to be a trade-off between affordability and protecting the environment, and the majority of Canadians apparently agree. Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has been walking a precarious line between approving major natural resource projects and putting forward a reasonable plan for climate change. But more needs to be done.
Canada has no energy plan
“Canada has no energy plan beyond pedal-to-the-metal export of its non-renewable energy assets,” wrote David Hughes, an earth scientist and research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in an opinion piece in the Calgary Herald Tuesday.
And Hughes is right on his assertion. Canada has continued to back fossil fuel extraction, through the approval of projects such as $7.4 billion Trans Mountain pipeline and the Keystone XL project, approved by President Trump on his taking office.
According to Clean Technica, most people in Canada think the government’s actions are “cynical and self-interested.” And the oil-rich province of Alberta is right in the middle of all this. Alberta’s government is happy to give lip-service to Canada’s international commitments on climate change – but don’t mess with their oilpatch. This is certainly not the best way to deal with the environment and it definitely is not what most Canadians want.
Canada’s unofficial policy on the extraction of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas production – along with the Trump administration’s total disregard for any environmental regulations – is going to make it difficult to have an intelligent conversation about climate change and the effects of global warming.
Curbing oil and gas production
The sad truth is that fossil fuels provide the majority of the energy Canadians consume every year. However, as we all know, fossil fuels and hydrocarbons have major environmental impacts, which we are experiencing today.
Production of conventional oil in Canada peaked in 1973 and was followed by shale gas peaking in 2001. This means that any significant growth in the sector will have to come from Alberta’s oil sands and new fracking for oil and gas. While we can all agree that Canada will need oil and gas for the foreseeable future, keep in mind that over half of these products are exported.
Also keep in mind that Canada is selling its exported oil and gas at bargain-basement prices, in part, due to a glut in the market and shale production in the U.S. ratcheting up. Actually, Canadian oil and gas producers are losing money in the long run.
Canadians are told that curbing oil and gas production will have a disastrous effect on the revenues generated by the oil companies that provide government services. The truth is that investments in the Canadian oil sector plunged 47 percent from 2014 to 2017 to Can$43 billion (US$33 billion), while last year alone they rose by 38 percent in the United States to around US$120 billion.
Hughes writes: ‘The rhetoric from Premier Rachel Notley’s government that the sky will fall without TMX and the federal government’s “national interest” justification for buying the pipeline have no merit. It’s time to look at the big picture and develop a viable energy plan that will meet Canada’s long-term energy needs and emissions reduction targets.”
