Federal deal with Alberta risks Canada’s climate competitiveness |
Last month's agreement between the governments of Canada and Alberta lays the foundation for a new and highly contested oil pipeline to the northwest coast, swiftly putting a decade of federal climate progress in jeopardy in an attempt to protect our economy. But this approach misses the point; good climate policy is good economic policy. This agreement threatens both.
While the pipeline is making headlines, it is unlikely to be built. Coastal First Nations and other Indigenous communities fiercely oppose the project. There is no private sector investor — a sign that this project does not make economic sense, especially with peak oil demand on the near horizon. What’s more, federal support for the pipeline is conditional on building the CAD $16.5 billion Pathways Project to capture and store carbon (CCS) from Albertan oilsands, a project which its own proponents have suggested is not viable without billions in public financing. Then, even if the economics could work, a new crude oil pipeline in exchange for CCS in the oilsands would result in more emissions, not less — hardly a climate solution.
With a pipeline being a pipe dream, the real risk following this agreement is of dismantling Canada’s hard-won federal climate protections, derailing Canada’s climate competitiveness strategy before it even gets off the ground.
The federal government plays a critical role in........