'This is mostly theatre': Alberta's message at COP27 is oilsands 'boosterism,' critics say
Trip appears chiefly designed to speak to concerns, frustrations of United Conservative Party's voter base
Alberta environment minister Sonya Savage said she’s attending COP27 in Egypt this week to prevent Ottawa from presenting a “one-sided narrative” at the global climate conference, and to showcase the province’s leadership on carbon capture and methane regulations. Some critics argue the trip appears chiefly calibrated to speak to the concerns and frustrations of the governing United Conservative Party’s voter base.
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'This is mostly theatre': Alberta's message at COP27 is oilsands 'boosterism,' critics say Back to video
As the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference enters its second week, much of the talk surrounding Canada’s participation has focused on the makeup of the country’s delegation, which this year includes a political delegation from Alberta led by Savage — a reversal from the province’s stance last year when former premier Jason Kenney dismissed the global climate conference as a “gabfest.”
“In the past, we have not attended these climate conferences, and that meant missed opportunities,” Savage wrote in a commentary published in the Financial Post on Nov. 14. “By taking our seat at the world’s table, Alberta can showcase our global leadership, whether it is in carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), reducing methane emissions or clean hydrogen,” she continued. “But if Alberta had refused to participate, we’d not only miss the opportunity to tell our story, but also have allowed the federal government to build a one-sided narrative. This is not acceptable.”
Savage added that at past climate conferences, the federal government committed to targets that were not achievable only to return to Canada to hand down “unrealistic objectives” to the provinces in charge of developing those resources.
But some critics have accused Savage of oilsands “boosterism,” arguing her message flies in the face of data that shows greenhouse gas emissions in Alberta have been increasing for the past two decades and are the highest of any province in Canada, largely because of oilsands production, which is responsible for some the highest per-barrel emissions in the world.
To CERA week, definitely. To COP, I am less certain. AB has no official status at COP, and there is not likely to be a lot of audience there for oil sands boosterism. Of course, that's not the market she's being sent to influence.
— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) November 7, 2022
“This is all mostly just high theatre for their base here in Alberta, to try to suggest that they’re doing something on this file,” said University of Calgary law professor Martin Olszynski.
“No one’s going to be fooled by a politician from Alberta coming and trying to talk, to essentially just lay out all these promises about some future plan,” Olszynski added. “At the end of the day, the data is the data. And that’s the problem that (Alberta’s oil) industry faces — unless they really start putting their money where their mouths are, and really start to decarbonize, investing in CCS and all of that.”
From Egypt, Savage announced on Nov. 14 that the Alberta government will commit $50 million to helping the province’s industrial sector reduce emissions, funded through the province’s version of the carbon tax, the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.
Savage was also scheduled to participate in panel discussions, roundtables and events pertaining to oilsands decarbonization, food security, clean technology and carbon capture and storage. The environment minister will also meet with officials from the United States Chamber of Commerce and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy.
But the minister’s message to COP27 delegates that climate policy should not trump energy security, and that continued investment in oil and gas is critical, is unlikely to resonate with most participants at COP27, Olszynski said.
“There’s always an excuse from Alberta and the Alberta government for why we shouldn’t be moving aggressively to reduce emissions and now they’re just trying to use the current geopolitical context,” Olszynski said. “But (COP27 delegates), they know, they know what Europe is really doing. They know which way this is really moving and it’s moving towards decarbonization. It’s not moving towards diversifying people’s fossil fuel portfolios — maybe in the short term, but in the medium to long term… it’s about accelerating the transition.”
• Email: mpotkins@postmedia.com | Twitter: mpotkins
