Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was looking for alternatives to the Russian energy on which his country depends. The summary of the call between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Social Democratic Chancellor, held on February 13, indicates, in fact, that the two heads of government discussed “a possible future cooperation in the field of gas liquefied natural”. Since Vladimir Putin carried out his threat to invade Ukraine, weaning off Russian natural gas and oil has become imperative for the coalition government led by Mr. Scholz. And in an extraordinary speech, delivered last Sunday in the Bundestag, he made a 180-degree turn by abandoning Germany’s long-running foreign and energy policies. Among the initiatives announced: the “rapid” construction of two liquefied natural gas terminals which should facilitate the import of more than 15 million tonnes of the resource per year.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was quick to seize the opportunity to launch a plea for energy in his province. “I ask the federal government and the government of Quebec to work with us to create a clear policy to develop Canadian energy exports,” he said earlier this week. I believe this is an emergency for world peace and stability. This is not a new argument. The Canadian oil and gas industry has long argued that the real “dirty energy” is not that which comes from Alberta – as François Legault suggested shortly after his election in 2018 – but rather that of undemocratic countries — especially Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world’s second and third largest oil producers, respectively — that violate human rights, fund terrorism and flout environmental standards.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine does indeed give ammunition to critical observers who decry the hypocrisy of Canadian politicians hampering Canada’s fossil fuel industry, while dictators like Mr. Putin and Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman are getting richer from the expansion of oil production in their country. Whatever people say, global demand for oil is not waning. Despite all the efforts aimed at reducing the consumption of fossil fuels, everything indicates that it will continue to increase in the years to come, before reaching a peak somewhere in 2040 or 2050. The German plan that was unveiled Mr. Scholz even foresees an increase in coal consumption in the short and medium term in the country to compensate for a reduction in natural gas imported from Russia. Importing Canadian natural gas would allow Germany and the countries of Eastern Europe to end their coal consumption, which remains considerable, more quickly.
“We should revive the LNG Quebec project in the Saguenay, launched this week in a tweet the former press secretary of Stephen Harper Carl Vallée. Do we not have a moral obligation to help Europe obtain supplies elsewhere and thus undermine the Russian energy advantage? The very idea seems to have startled the government of Mr. Legault, which, it should be remembered, had rejected GNL Québec’s proposal to build a liquefaction complex at the Port of Saguenay even before the last environmental impact studies were completed. completed. “The opinion given about GNL Quebec is final, dropped the CAQ Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette. It is therefore not possible to review our decision regarding this project. At least not before the provincial elections next October.
A coalition of environmental groups accuses the oil and gas industry of using the crisis in Ukraine to advocate for a massive expansion of Canadian fossil fuels knowing that a liquefied natural gas project could take a decade or more to complete . This is notably the case of LNG Canada, the only project related to this resource under construction in Canada. The site is located in Kitimat, British Columbia, and the terminal is scheduled to come into operation in 2025. “The instrumentalization of the conflict by the fossil industry and its political allies shows their very poor reading of the situation, that it is precisely the states’ dependence on dirty gas from Russia that has contributed to Vladimir Putin’s position of power, underlined the climate policy analyst at Équiterre, Émile Boisseau-Bouvier. Renewable energies and energy efficiency are the solution for ensuring States greater security and true independence. »
The debate is far from over. According to many geopolitical experts, it has only just begun. The invasion of Ukraine causes almost all European countries to review their energy policies through a completely different prism. They look to Canada. The promoters of liquefied natural gas projects in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces take note of this and resume their efforts to convince Ottawa to support them. Stay tuned.