Trudeau wants to pollute less by pumping more oil

Ottawa | The federal government will invest billions of dollars to combat the climate crisis, while allowing the oil and gas industry to produce more, in the hope that it will find ways to reduce pollution.

The Trudeau government on Tuesday unveiled its first plan to reduce emissions under Canada’s new Carbon Neutral Accountability Act.

The project provides $ 9.1 billion in investment, particularly subsidizing the purchase of zero-emission vehicles and financial charging stations to reduce the energy costs of homes and buildings.

According to the government, by the end of the decade, all sectors will be able to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 37% and 88% compared to 2005, which could achieve the national target set last year.

But the oil and gas sector is sticking to a 31% cut in its 2005 emissions. (42% compared to 2019)

For Alice-Anne Simard, director general of Nature Québec, this is a bad “pass-right” for the country’s most polluting industry.

Instead of imposing a national target on hydrocarbon producers, the government is making suggestions to control their emissions.

Archive photo

The oil produced by Canada comes mainly from oil sand found in Canadian grasslands. In this photo we see the eruptions caused by its sand mining in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Twice as crude

During this time, more and more gas and oil will be pumped: 5567 barrels per day in 2030 crude oil 4185 in 2020 and 2841 in 2010.

However, Kevin Anderson, a professor at the Tindal Center for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester in Great Britain, insists that Canada must completely restrict the production of its hydrocarbons in order to fulfill its obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement.

“This limit should reduce Canada’s oil and gas production by almost three-quarters by 2030 and eliminate production altogether by 2034,” he told a parliamentary committee.

The dream of pure fossil energy

But as Europe seeks alternatives to Russian fossil fuels, Ottawa wants to “supply the world with less carbon oil and gas.”

To achieve this, the government has relied on carbon capture and storage technologies.

However, these technologies, which confuse many ecologists and scientists, “have not matured. [et] For now, they only allow minimal emissions offenses, ”warns Ms.^Me Simart.