Canada is on track to become a world leader in expanding the oil and gas sector, Oil Change International said in a report released Tuesday. The organization is therefore calling on the Trudeau government to quickly deliver on its promise to limit and reduce industrial emissions. The details of this regulation are expected this autumn.
According to the conclusions of this research group, which is very critical of our dependence on fossil fuels, Canada could be the second largest country in terms of increased oil and gas production by 2050. It would be overtaken by the United States. United, but would precede several other major producers, including Norway, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Oil Change International estimates that Canada alone could account for nearly 10% of the total expansion planned during this period. If this new use were to come about, according to the calculations in this thirty-page report, it would mean total emissions of 18.6 billion tons of greenhouse gases (GHG). Such a report would be equivalent to the global emissions of 117 coal-fired power plants, he explains, calling Canada a “climate hypocrite.”
The organization deplores the measures that open the door to production growth, including the issuance of new permits for oil and gas exploration, the green light for projects such as Bay du Nord, the growing importance of fracking in exploitation and the financial support of the fossil fuel Fuel sector.
Also mentioned is the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline system, an infrastructure that has so far cost more than $30 billion and is owned by the federal government and is intended to facilitate the export of oil from tar sands.
Limit emissions?
However, the planned expansion of fossil fuel production worldwide, and particularly in Canada, would make it “impossible” to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement of limiting warming to 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era. An opinion shared by the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, and the International Energy Agency.
Oil Change International is therefore calling on the federal government to implement a “phase-out” of fossil fuels, particularly by limiting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector.
It specifies that this cap is intended to take into account “the entire supply chain” – and therefore also includes emissions generated from the use of exported oil and gas. According to a report from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), these emissions amounted to more than four billion tonnes between 2016 and 2020.
Since 2021, the Trudeau government has promised to cap and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector. Where is the development of regulations? In the summer of 2022, a “working document” was published for consultation, particularly with the federal states and industry. “Further details on the approach should be announced later in the fall,” ECCC said in response to questions from Le Devoir.
“While the details of the cap remain to be confirmed, as outlined in the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, the Government of Canada is committed to capping and reducing emissions from the oil and gas sector at the pace and scale necessary to achieve the 2030 target “Climate targets and net zero emissions by 2050,” assures the ministry.
Production increase in sight
In addition, CO2 capture and storage is “a key technology, among other things, that will continue to enable the decarbonization of the oil and gas sector,” said the federal government. The development of interception and storage projects, still in the experimental stage, has received millions of dollars in funding from Ottawa. The oil industry, including oil sands companies, promotes carbon capture and storage.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers predicted that investment in oil and gas production will reach $40 billion in 2023.
In the coming years we will also focus on developing new exploitation projects, particularly in the marine environment off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. According to available official data, gas and oil production in the country is expected to increase.