Suncor Reaffirms Its Commitment to Lowering Carbon Emissions

On Monday, Suncor’s CEO said on Parliament Hill that the company is still fully committed to eradicating its carbon footprint in less than three decades.

Some MPs accused Rich Kruger of “greenwashing” the industry’s efforts to address climate change after he admitted that he hadn’t read the fine print on new federal regulations for reducing emissions from gasoline and diesel.

The regulations went into effect on July 1 and call for the replacement of fossil fuel power plants at oil extraction sites with renewable or lower-emitting energy, the production of biofuels like ethanol, and the installation of charging stations for electric vehicles as a means to compensate for the emissions generated by the manufacturing and importation of gasoline and diesel.

During a meeting with Kruger, Bloc Quebecois MP Mario Simard asked him to break down the financial impact of the new clean fuel regulations, how much of that impact will be passed on to consumers, and how it matches up with Suncor’s primary climate investment of a carbon capture and storage facility.

“I’ve not studied the regulation in my six months in the job here,” stated Kruger.

For the majority of companies, the initial stages of the regulations will have little to no effect because they are already doing plenty to comply. From now until the year 2030, they will gradually increase in intensity.

After the meeting, Charlie Angus, a member of the New Democratic Party, said that he has trouble believing Kruger doesn’t know how much the regulations will cost.

“Someone in Mr. Kruger’s capacity, who has been top dog in some of the biggest oil firms in the world, knows what’s going on in the industry,” said Angus.

“And this is a major battle zone right now between the provincial government in Alberta, where he’s based, and the federal government. It will have implications for us meeting our climate targets. And he hasn’t read them? It’s it’s simply not believable.”

Kruger appeared before the House of Commons natural resources committee to clarify his comments to shareholders in August, in which he suggested he might lessen his company’s focus on the shift to cleaner energy.

Suncor’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint has been misinterpreted, according to Kruger, who said the company’s current focus is on maximizing profits so it can make the necessary investments in decarbonization in the future.

“Our commitments on being part of the transition have not changed,” he added.

He revealed that the company spent $540 million on decarbonization initiatives last year.

Liberal MP John Aldag characterized Suncor’s strategy as the approach of a company desperate to maximize oil production before global demand collapses.

“It seems like you’re trying to get every last dollar out of that oil and gas sector,” he said.

Kruger said that even if Canada were to reduce its oil production, this wouldn’t necessarily lead to a decrease in global oil consumption.

“The question for me is where the investment will be made,” he said.

“I think oil and gas has a long life ahead of it, it’s how we do it that will make it more socially acceptable.”