Federal Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says Alberta Premier Daniel Smith’s claim that Canada can achieve carbon neutrality in 2050 while increasing oil and gas production is “incoherent.”
Smith has long argued that carbon neutrality is about moving away from emissions, not from oil and gas production, which will continue to dominate globally for decades to come. She claims it is a source of energy.
“I think Prime Minister Smith’s argument is actually logically incoherent,” Wilkinson said in an interview with CBC Radio. the house It will be broadcast on Saturday. “No one who actually believes in fighting climate change could come to that conclusion.
“10 to 15 percent of emissions are associated with oil and gas production. More than 85 percent are associated with the combustion of fossil fuels used in cars, natural gas furnaces, and everything else. 2050 The amount of oil and gas consumed will never be the same as it is now.”
Asked if Mr Smith was saying he didn’t believe in fighting climate change, Mr Wilkinson said: “I don’t want to be that strong.”
“What I’m saying is that I don’t understand her argument, because it makes no sense at all. Where we can’t reduce emissions, we have to reduce the burning of fossil fuels. ” Wilkinson said.
The Energy Minister’s comments come as the Liberal government this week announced a regulatory framework to limit emissions from the oil and gas sector, which will help meet Canada’s 2030 climate change goals and meet Canada’s 2050 climate goals. It is part of the government’s commitment to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions in the future.
Mr Smith’s office referred to comments made by the prime minister when asked to comment on Mr Wilkinson’s remarks at COP 28 in Dubai earlier this week. the house.
Mr Smith expressed anger at the government’s decision to move forward with oil and gas emissions limits. She argued this is a de facto production cap and an attack on Alberta’s economy.
“We are not going to allow our production that we own to be shut down by federal order. This is not a federal jurisdiction. We have the right to develop our resources,” Smith said in Dubai. Ta. “We are developing responsibly. We are achieving our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.”
In an interview with the house Mr Smith said in July that he was alarmed by Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault’s claims that oil and gas production could fall by 75% by 2050.
“This idea is inconsistent with any reliable prediction of future global energy consumption,” Smith said.
“Instead of sowing uncertainty for investors and finding ways to reduce support for Canadian energy globally, the federal government is partnering with Alberta to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 while simultaneously Canadians should focus on investing in the country’s energy sector to increase production, jobs and economic growth.”
Canadian oil and gas production forecast
Canadian Energy Regulator 2023 report investigated what oil and gas production would look like under two net-zero scenarios.
In a global net-zero scenario (in which Canada achieves carbon neutrality by 2050 and the rest of the world reduces emissions enough to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius), the report states that Canada forecast that crude oil production will decline to 1.2 million barrels per day (76% less than 2022) and natural gas production will decline to 5.5 billion cubic feet per day by 2050 (68% less than 2022). decreases to
In Canada’s net-zero scenario (in which Canada achieves carbon neutrality by 2050 but moves to reduce GHG emissions in other parts of the world slows), the report predicts that Canada’s crude oil production would reach 3.9 million yen per day. barrels (22% lower than in 2050). In 2022), natural gas production is expected to decline to 11 billion cubic feet per day by 2050 (37% less than in 2022).
For comparison, in 2022, Canadian crude oil production averaged 5 million barrels per day, and natural gas production averaged 17.3 billion cubic feet per day.
The Canadian Energy Regulator has announced that if Canada takes limited action to reduce emissions beyond measures already in place and fails to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, then global action will also be required. If restricted, Canadian oil and gas production would increase, he predicted.
Canada is the first major oil and gas producer to announce plans to impose emissions caps on its oil and gas sector.
The Canadian Explorers and Producers Association argues this is not necessary to meet Canada’s emissions reduction goals.
“The government has really dropped the ball on this, which is unfortunate,” CEO Tristan Goodman said in an interview. the house Broadcast on Saturday. “They need to rethink how they go about this and do some kind of realignment and really look at the whole suite of climate policies and how they fit together. ”
