Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got his day within the Washington sun Thursday for supporting U.S. President Barack Obama’s global warming action.
Canada, U.S. accept cut methane emissions from oil and gas industry by almost half
President Obama and Pm Justin Trudeau announce the steps in Washington, a move meant to underscore their commitment to combat climate change
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Make no mistake: While Trudeau got the interest, it’s Obama who got the victory lap.
He beat Canada on the Keystone XL debacle, which contributed to the containment of Canadian gas and oil industry growth, and wiped out seven many years of frosty bilateral relations with former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the cost of hosting a situation visit with the new Liberal leader.
Under Obama’s watch, U.S. oil production soared, a ban on oil exports was lifted to permit U.S. oil to achieve world markets and also the U.S. liquefied 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 market is going nowhere; Canadian oilsands production continues to be capped; Canadians are facing carbon taxes while their U.S. counterparts aren’t; Canada’s fossil fuel treasure trove has been marginalized in favour of subsidized renewable energy included in 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 causes of gas and oil supplies, particularly from unconventional deposits in the usa,” the report says. “The U.S. is now a rejuvenated force in gas and oil production, one that poses huge risks to Alberta’s share of the market. This really is problematic, since we have long trusted the U.S. as our primary (and also to some degree only) customer, and we do not have sufficient way to move then sell our gas and oil to other countries.”
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The two countries announced climate change initiatives on Thursday to show they’re united within the fight to contain climate change. However the measures are marginal and do not even level the arena on climate change.
Canada is moving forward at full speed, thanks to new governments in Alberta and Ottawa, penalizing the power sector in the hope that the environmental leadership will win energy markets and pipeline approvals in the future.
Obama continues to be unable to drive higher action due to opposition from Republicans dominating Congress and has used his executive powers to make change with the U.S. Epa. His days in power are numbered and the moves might be reversed if a Republican wins the White House in November.
In a statement, the 2 leaders said they “regard the Paris agreement like a turning point in global efforts to combat climate change and anchor economic development in clean development,” talking about global commitments to reduce carbon to keep the increase in temperatures increases to below 2C, and decided to play a leadership role internationally in the low carbon global economy.
“It’s wonderful to determine our American friends and partners share and dealing on the identical priorities,” Trudeau said in the White House’s south lawn.
The centerpiece of the climate announcement is definitely an agreement to reduce methane emissions from gas and oil up to 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 the very first time.
According to the EPA, methane is 84 times as potent as co2 in warming the climate over Two decades, 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 a part of its climate leadership plan, that also targets a 45 percent reduction by 2025. Bc matched Alberta’s program a week ago.
Gary Leach, president of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, said Alberta had been an innovator in the region and it’s not obvious what Ottawa’s participation will bring.
“This raises some uncertainty about in which the regulatory standards will be established and whether you will see duplication,” he said. “And we need to be mindful of what’s been accomplished.”
The campaign against the U.S. methane cap has started. The American Petroleum Institute slammed the guidelines, saying increased utilization of gas from shale discoveries helped the U.S. cut greenhouse gas emissions to near 20-year lows.
“Additional regulations on methane through the administration could discourage the shale energy revolution which has helped America lead the planet in lessening emissions while significantly decreasing the costs of one’s to consumers,” the API said. “The administration is serving environmental extremists at the expense of Americans.”
Obama can come to Canada come july 1st for that United states leaders summit and will address Parliament. Having led to the hardship faced by Canada’s energy sector, and took part in damaging its reputation by calling us a producer of “dirty oil,” would be appropriate for Obama to understand its leadership in clean oil and gas production.
ccattaneo@nationalpost.com
Twitter.com/cattaneooutwest
