Alberta Premier to Attend COP28 to Promote Fossil Fuel-Friendly Agenda

Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith is scheduled to travel to Dubai in November to promote the province’s continued reliance on fossil fuels and a commitment to cut greenhouse gases at the COP28 climate change conference.

Smith said Thursday at the annual conference of the Alberta Industrial Heartland Association in Edmonton that she will lead Alberta’s team to the United Nations Climate Change Conference this year, following in the footsteps of former environment minister Sonya Savage. Smith and Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz will visit the United Arab Emirates this year.

Together, we will prove the doubters and the naysayers wrong. Alberta will not be left behind by the global energy transition,” said Smith.

At the Carbon Capture Canada conference two days before, Smith noted that carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) will play a big role in global efforts to shift to a low-carbon economy and that the province must take part on the international stage.

“I think we’ve got a very compelling story to tell about what the future of this energy transition looks like,” she said.

Contrary to Smith’s stance, former premier Jason Kenney decided not to send a delegation to the 2021 United Nations climate change conference in Scotland. At the time, he called the summit of world leaders a “gabfest” in mockery.

While the Alberta government has established a goal of eliminating carbon emissions by 2050, it is currently in the middle of a seven-month hold on new approvals for renewable energy projects like solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric power facilities.

On Thursday, Smith addressed the importance of expanding Alberta’s ammonia, lithium, liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, and mineral industries, in addition to geothermal power generation.

“These are the industries of the future, and they are leading to the technologies that will provide humanity with the miracle of cheap and abundant energy and resources, all while reducing carbon dioxide emissions—and Alberta will be a global leader in every respect,” said Smith.

Smith’s opposition to any federal mandate for a net-zero electrical system is another evidence of her and the UCP’s continuous advocacy for the province’s natural gas industry, which is essential to the production of petrochemicals, blue hydrogen, and plastics.