Letter to the Editor: Canada won’t make progress on GHGs if expansion of oil sands continues
Re:“Trudeau’s biggest challenge over next several years will be to cut GHGs,”(The Hill Times, David Crane, Jan. 8).There is no denying it. Canada will not make progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions if exploration and expansion of the oil sands continues, including new pipelines to export bitumen to foreign markets. Reports from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Oil Change International, and others show that emissions from new fossil fuel projects in Canada are inconsistent with our plan to cut emissions by 30 per cent from 2005 levels. And yet oil sands projects continue to be approved.
Meanwhile, NewYork City announced on Jan. 10 that it will divest $5-billion from fossil fuels and sue major oil companies for damages associated with climate change. France has banned all oil and gas exploration on its territory.The World Bank has ceased funding fossil fuel projects. And, the price of renewable energy continues to fall. The writing is on the wall.
Canada too can be a leader in the global transition to a clean energy economy, guided by its Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. But instead of expanding fossil fuel production it has to start managing a just transition.
Beth Lorimer, Ecological Justice Program Co-ordinator, KAIROS Canada
Originally published in the Hill Times on January 15, 2018
