By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has signed an agreement with Alberta’s Premier, which seeks to roll back certain climate rules to boost investment in energy production, while encouraging construction of a new oil pipeline to the West Coast.
Under the agreement signed on Thursday, the federal government will scrap a planned emissions cap on the oil and gas sector and drop rules on clean electricity in exchange for a commitment by Canada’s top oil-producing province to strengthen industrial carbon pricing and support a carbon capture-and-storage project.
The deal, which was hailed by the country’s oil industry but condemned by environmentalists is seen as a shift in Canada’s energy policy in favour of fossil fuel development and is already creating tensions within Carney’s minority government.
Steven Guilbeault, who served as environment minister under Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau, said he was quitting the cabinet over concerns that Canada’s climate plan was being dismantled.
Carney is counting on the energy sector to help the Canadian economy weather uncertainty from United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and is seeking to diversify from the US market, which currently takes 90 percent of Canada’s oil exports.
In remarks at an industry event in Calgary, Carney said US tariffs and the resulting uncertainty will wipe $50bn from Canada’s economy, the equivalent of $1,300 for every Canadian, stressing the need to build projects that can spur growth and reduce US reliance.
He has relaxed some environmental restrictions implemented by his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, while reaffirming his commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Alberta is also exploring the feasibility of a new crude oil pipeline to British Columbia’s northwest coast in order to increase exports to Asia, but no private-sector company has committed to building a new pipeline.
Pipeline companies and the Alberta government have repeatedly said significant federal legislative changes, including removing a federal cap on oil and gas sector emissions and ending a ban on oil tankers off British Columbia’s northern coast would be required before a private entity would consider proposing a new pipeline.
The Canadian government will enable a clear and efficient approval process for a new pipeline to be constructed and financed by the private sector, Carney said.
He added that the new pipeline would transport one million barrels of low-emission Alberta bitumen a day, with a route that increases access to new Asian markets as a priority.
Thursday’s agreement includes a commitment by the federal government to adjust the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act in order to facilitate oil exports to Asia.
