While Trudeau got attention, it’s Obama who ran the climate While Trudeau got attention, it’s Obama who ran the climate change victory lap
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Claudia Cattaneo
Thursday, Mar. 10, 2016
Claudia Cattaneo: The two countries announced climate change initiatives on Thursday to show they are united in the fight to contain climate change. But the measures are marginal and do not even level the playing field on climate change. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got his day in the Washington sun Thursday for supporting U.S. President Barack Obama’s climate change action.
Make no mistake: While Trudeau got the attention, it’s Obama who got the victory lap.
He beat Canada on the Keystone XL debacle, which contributed to the containment of Canadian oil and gas industry growth, and wiped out seven years of frosty bilateral relations with former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the price of hosting a state visit with the new Liberal leader.
Under Obama’s watch, U.S. oil production soared, a ban on oil exports was lifted to allow U.S. oil to reach world markets and the U.S. liquefied natural gas industry beat Canadian projects to export markets.
Meanwhile, proposed Canadian pipelines remain tied in knots, courtesy of opposition from the same U.S.-funded NGOs that led the assault against KXL; Canadian oil has been unable to reach export markets; the Canadian LNG industry is going nowhere; Canadian oilsands production has been capped; Canadians are facing carbon taxes while their U.S. counterparts are not; Canada’s fossil fuel treasure trove has been marginalized in favour of subsidized renewable energy as part of a massive, government-directed intrusion in the energy economy.
Indeed, during Obama’s administration, the U.S. oil and gas industry became Canada’s biggest competitor, as highlighted in Alberta’s recently released royalty review report:
“Advances in technology have unlocked significant new sources of oil and gas supplies, particularly from unconventional deposits in the United States,” the report says. “The U.S. is now a rejuvenated force in oil and gas production, one that poses huge risks to Alberta’s market share. This is problematic, since we have long relied on the U.S. as our primary (and to some extent only) customer, and we do not have sufficient means to move and sell our oil and gas to other countries.”
The two countries announced climate change initiatives on Thursday to show they are united in the fight to contain climate change. But the measures are marginal and do not even level the playing field on climate change.
Canada is moving forward at full speed, thanks to new governments in Alberta and Ottawa, penalizing the energy sector in the hope that the environmental leadership will win energy markets and pipeline approvals in the future.
Obama has been unable to drive more significant action because of opposition from Republicans dominating Congress and has used his executive powers to force change through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. His days in power are numbered and his moves could be reversed if a Republican wins the White House in November.
In a statement, the two leaders said they “regard the Paris agreement as a turning point in global efforts to combat climate change and anchor economic growth in clean development,” referring to global commitments to reduce carbon to keep the rise in temperatures increases to below 2C, and agreed to play a leadership role internationally in the low carbon global economy.
“It’s wonderful to see our American friends and partners share and working on the exact same priorities,” Trudeau said at the White House’s south lawn.
The centerpiece of their climate announcement is an agreement to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas by as much as 45 per cent from 2012 levels by 2025. As part of that effort, the U.S. is beginning regulatory efforts to limit emissions at existing oil and gas infrastructure for the first time.
According to the EPA, methane is 84 times as potent as carbon dioxide in warming the atmosphere over 20 years, and the oil and gas sector accounts for about a third of U.S. emissions.
Alberta announced methane reduction targets in November. It is the least controversial part of its climate leadership plan, which also targets a 45 per cent reduction by 2025. British Columbia matched Alberta’s program last week.
Gary Leach, president of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, said Alberta was already a leader in the area and it’s not obvious what Ottawa’s participation will bring.
“This raises some uncertainty about where the regulatory standards will be established and whether there will be duplication,” he said. “And we need to be mindful of what has been accomplished.”
The campaign against the U.S. methane cap has already started. The American Petroleum Institute slammed the rules, saying increased use of natural gas from shale discoveries helped the U.S. cut greenhouse gas emissions to near 20-year lows.
“Additional regulations on methane by the administration could discourage the shale energy revolution that has helped America lead the world in reducing emissions while significantly lowering the costs of energy to consumers,” the API said. “The administration is catering to environmental extremists at the expense of American consumers.”
Obama will come to Canada this summer for the North American leaders summit and will address Parliament. Having contributed to the hardship faced by Canada’s energy sector, and participated in damaging its reputation by calling us a producer of “dirty oil,” would be appropriate for Obama to acknowledge its leadership in clean oil and gas production.
ccattaneo@nationalpost.com
Twitter.com/cattaneooutwest