Despite Trudeau’s Proposal to cap Emissions, Canada’s oil and gas Companies have Different plans 

Justin Trudeau made a promise to Canadians during this past election campaign that he would cap and then reduce emissions from Canada’s oil and gas sector, which he did on Monday at the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

On Wednesday, a new analysis by Environmental Defence Canada and Oil Change International shows Ottawa is against the Oil and Gas sector, an industry that has no intention of slowing down their production.

“The production plans of Canada’s oil and gas industry are wholly out of line with what’s required to stay below 1.5 degrees of global warming,” said Kelly Trout, co-writer of the report and co-director at Oil Change International

The analysis evaluate the climate plans of eight Canadian Oil and Gas producers such as Suncor Energy, Shell Canada, Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Imperial Oil, Tourmaline Oil, Ovintiv, and Arc Resources.

In the report, they found unclear promises that rely on carbon-capture-and-storage technologies while largely ignoring emissions released when their product is burned to generate electricity, heat homes, or power vehicles. These ‘scope three emissions’ make approximately 70 to 80% of the greenhouse gases linked with Canada’s oil and gas sector.

Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Suncor Energy, and Imperial Oil,  are participants of an alliance made with the goal of reducing emissions from their oilsands operations to zero by 2050.

The report also discovered that none of the companies had committed to stopping exploration, suspending new extraction projects, reducing production by 2030, or developing plans to eventually transition out production completely.

They point out that the alliance is not focusing on targeting scope three emissions, which are the gases emitted when the oil and gas produced is burned.

The report concludes that it is ultimately up to governments to stop approving new projects and invest in transitioning away from fossil fuels.

“Canada should phase out production from existing projects even faster, given it is a rich, industrialized country with a responsibility to lead globally and the capacity to ensure a just transition for affected workers and communities.”