By Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Canada’s new energy and natural resources minister championed the energy sector Friday, calling on governments and industry to work together to build the Pathways Alliance’s proposed carbon capture project.
Continue reading Minister says Canada needs ‘infrastructure that gets our energy to tidewater’ at Calgary meetingBy Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Prime Minister Mark Carney worried environmentalists after he opened the door to changing federal impact assessment legislation and the oil and gas emissions cap in a recent interview.
“We will change things at the federal level that need to be changed in order for projects to move forward,” Carney told CTV News in an interview on Tuesday.
He was asked if this included Bill C-69 — the federal Impact Assessment Act — and a yet-to-be-finalized cap on oil and gas sector emissions.
“Absolutely, it could include both,” Carney responded.
Continue reading Carney open to changing major environment policies so projects can ‘move forward’
By Jeremy Appel, Alberta Native News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
(ANNews) – The national advocacy organization for Treaty First Nations has joined the chorus of First Nations telling Alberta premier Danielle Smith that a referendum on Alberta independence would be illegitimate without consulting the land’s original inhabitants.
“Any proposed separation of Alberta from Canada would be fundamentally illegitimate and unconstitutional without the explicit, prior, informed and collective consent of the First Nations whose lands and rights predate the formation of the province and of Canada,” Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Woodhouse Nepinak said in a May 12 news release.
Continue reading First Nations criticism of Danielle Smith goes national
By Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Conservative Party’s election platform claims that repealing a slew of climate policies and resource regulations will generate billions in revenue for the federal government.
This platform is “flipping the bird to climate change,” said Ryan Katz-Rosene, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Ottawa, in a phone interview with Canada’s National Observer.
Continue reading Conservative platform is ‘flipping the bird’ at climate change, expert suggests
On March 21, Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a press release stating that in 2023 Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped to their lowest level in 27 years (excluding the pandemic years). The exception in this otherwise positive picture was the oil and gas sector, where emissions continue to rise. However there is good news within that sector as well, ‘fugitive greenhouse gas emissions from oil and natural gas have decreased by 33% between 2013–2023, driven in part by Canada’s 2020 oil and gas methane regulations, which have reduced methane venting and leaks.’
“The two main messages from the National Inventory report last week, which I feel are really important, is that climate policy works. Over the last 10 years, Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions have gone down. Our methane emissions have gone down. Our electricity has become less emissions intensive, and all of that has happened while our economy has grown. This is a significant point to make. And this is something that environmental groups, activists, researchers, community leaders, all of them have been saying for decades,” responded Aly Hyder Ali, from Environmental Defence.
“The other aspect of the report was that the oil and gas industry is holding us back. The oil and gas industry has failed to do its part when it comes to emissions reductions and if it was able to or willing to do that, Canadians would be in a much better place.”
Continue reading Are Oil and Gas emissions holding Canada back from reaching its climate goals?
