The bosses of some of Canada’s largest oil and gas companies defended their industry Thursday, the same day a group of Canadians personally affected by climate change called on the federal government to implement its plan to cap carbon emissions. greenhouse gases (GHG) from the oil and gas sector.
The presidents and CEOs and senior executives of Cenovus Energy, Enbridge, Imperial Oil, Shell Canada and Suncor Energy appeared by videoconference Thursday afternoon before the House Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development municipalities.
Their appearance followed a motion in April by New Democratic Party environment critic Laurel Collins, which asked executives to explain what their companies are doing to fight climate change.
One by one on Thursday, the bosses talked about their goal of reducing GHG emissions while increasing Canada’s oil production in the years to come.
“Every credible study shows that we will continue to need all forms of energy, including oil, to meet growing global energy demands,” said Jon McKenzie, President and CEO of Cenovus.
“This oil will be produced somewhere, and it should be produced in Canada, where we have some of the strictest regulations and where we have industry-leading ESG (environmental, social and governance factors) performance. »
“The world will not consume one less barrel of oil just because Canada chooses not to supply it,” said Rich Kruger, President and CEO of Suncor. He adds that the oil and gas sector can help fight climate change, but they need favorable government policies and regulations so they can invest in technologies to reduce GHG emissions.
Hours earlier, a small group of people spoke to reporters at a news conference on Parliament Hill organized by the Climate Action Network.
The group included a woman who lost her home in Kelowna, British Columbia, in last year’s wildfires, a woman from Merritt, British Columbia, who suffered severe flooding in 2021, and a man from Tuktoyaktuk, in the Northwest Territories, which is concerned about rising sea levels.
“I came to Ottawa to share my story because I believe climate change is not an abstract concept,” said Meghan Fandrich, a resident of Lytton, British Columbia, a village 90% destroyed by fire forest in 2021. “It’s not something that will eventually affect us […] it’s already in progress. »
“We need to do what we can, and one action we could take that would have a phenomenal effect would be to put a very strict cap on carbon emissions. »
The biggest polluter
The oil and gas sector is the largest source of GHG emissions in Canada. It emits almost a third of the country’s GHGs. Emissions continue to rise due to growing production from Alberta’s oil sands.
The federal government has proposed capping emissions from the oil and gas sector, which the industry opposes.
On Thursday, Laurel Collins said Canadians are concerned about the increasing number of extreme weather events such as wildfires, drought and “heat domes” as the climate warms.
Some Canadian oil and gas companies posted record profits in 2022 as commodity prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We need an excess profits tax (in the oil and gas sector) to invest in solutions,” said Mr.me Collins to reporters.
Mme Collins also called on the Liberal government not to delay or weaken its promise to cap emissions in the sector.
The measure, proposed in December, would require the sector to reduce its GHG emissions by 35 to 38 percent, compared to 2019 levels, by 2030. The industry would also have the option to purchase carbon offset credits or to contribute to a decarbonization fund which would lower this requirement to a figure between 20 and 23%.
The government said the cap was aimed at limiting pollution, not oil and gas production, but the industry said the targets were too strict and would lead to companies reducing production.
The province of Alberta and business groups such as the Calgary Chamber of Commerce are also strongly opposed.
A group of oil sands companies, New Ways Alliance, has proposed spending $16.5 billion on a massive carbon capture and storage network in northern Alberta. The coalition is yet to make a final investment decision, saying more certainty is needed over government support and funding for the project.
The Pembina Institute, a clean energy think tank, said Thursday that federal and provincial measures that support investments that aim to reduce emissions – such as industrial carbon pricing and announced federal tax credits – are generous to companies in the sector, even compared to some of the incentives in the United States.
In an email sent Thursday morning, Pembina oil and gas program director Marie-Christine Bouchard said there is an urgent need for companies to act.
“Today’s hearing is another reminder that additional regulation is needed to ensure promised investments and projects finally begin to move forward,” she said.