Most of Canada’s oil sands producers have made little progress toward their carbon neutrality target, despite their historically high profits and low capital expenditures, a new report finds.
Posted at 4:21 p.m.
According to the Pembina Institute document, little action has been taken by members of the New Pathways Alliance, an industry group that represents 95% of Canada’s oil sands producers, to meet their net-zero emissions commitments. greenhouse gases by 2050.
Last year, Canada’s six largest oil sands producers and two existing oil sands organizations committed to meeting Canada’s climate imperatives under the New Paths Alliance.
The commitment includes targets for the oil sands sector, including achieving an annual reduction of 22 million tonnes of emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050, the minister said. Alliance President Kendall Diling in a statement.
The New Pathways Alliance “recognizes that it has a major role to play in helping Canada achieve its climate goals,” Diling said.
“The Pembina Institute’s expectations that New Pathways Alliance companies will make final investment decisions on these multi-billion dollar projects before governments have finalized the regulatory frameworks to support them are unrealistic. »
Several initiatives have been implemented or are underway by the Alberta government, said Pembina Institute oil and gas program director Jan Gorski, including the new investment tax credit, the finalizing green fuel regulations, carbon pricing system and oil sands emissions cap.
“There are actually a lot more things on the table right now than when the New Pathways Alliance was announced,” Mr. Gorski observed.
To date, the New Paths Alliance has incorporated the Oil Sands Innovation Alliance of Canada and the Oil Sands Community Alliance into their organization to continue efforts to reduce the environmental impact of the oil sands, Diling explained.
However, the report’s authors wanted to see more detailed plans for carbon capture projects and what investments in such projects will help reduce emissions.
The report also notes that Canada’s oil and natural gas sector is expected to generate profits of $152 billion in 2022. However, the growth in profits has not been invested in decarbonization efforts nor in a significant expansion of jobs in the sector. sector.
“There is an opportunity to create jobs through these decarbonization projects,” Gorski said.
Instead of environmental initiatives, the report noted that New Paths Alliance companies were investing in share buybacks and the payment of dividends.
New Paths Alliance members include Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Conoco Phillips, Canadian Natural Resources, Imperial Oil and MEG Energy.