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LATEST NEWS ON THIS TOPIC

Notley Scorches Federal Just Transition Bill as Fossil CEO Calls for Oilsands Boom
Alberta’s fraught politics around the upcoming federal just transition bill are intensifying, with provincial opposition leader Rachel Notley urging Ottawa to scrap the legislation and a fossil CEO claiming a just transition really means a boom in oilsands extraction.

Suncor Safety Violations, the Language of Just Transition, and California Faces Devastating Rainstorms
Suncor Energy and a subcontractor faced 28 charges for safety violations after a bulldozer crashed through thin ice on a frozen tailings pond in January, 2021, killing 25-year-old operator Patrick Poitras. “Someone didn’t do their job and I lost my son because of that,” his dad told CBC. “My son gave his life for that job.”

Trudeau ‘Handcuffs’ Alberta UCP with Carbon Capture Investment Pitch
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may have “handcuffed” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith by urging her United Conservative Party (UCP) government to invest some of its multi-billion-dollar budget surplus in carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), a Calgary-based political scientist says.

Canadian Pension Funds Back Renewables, RCMP Spends $50M Policing Protests, Gas Stoves Linked to Childhood Asthma, and a Rogue Geoengineering Experiment Gets Under Way
Two of Canada’s biggest pension funds opened the year with new investments in offshore wind and overseas renewable energy projects, after a year of taking sustained criticism for their continuing commitment to fossil fuels. A leading sustainability consultancy profiled Canada’s clean energy powerhouses, Calgary-based ATCO Ltd. bought $713 million worth of solar and wind projects from oilsands operator Suncor Energy, and bids opened for onshore wind projects across nearly 1.7 million hectares of government-owned land in Newfoundland and Labrador.

THE RUNDOWN: U.S. Narrowly Averts Massive Blackout, USPS to Buy 66,000 Electric Delivery Vans, and Twitter Lights Up for Brazil’s New Cabinet
At least 91 people died and the eastern United States narrowly averted a massive blackout after a “bomb cyclone” hit much of the continental United States December 21-26. Facing renewed attention to the vulnerability of the Texas power grid, Governor Greg Abbott demanded a probe of fossil gas supplier Atmos Energy, just months after promising the state was ready to withstand the next round of winter storms. A Ford F-150 Lightning still had two-thirds of its battery capacity available after powering its owner through a two-day power outage in southern Ontario, and California utility PG&E distributed home batteries to help some of its customers get through summer blackouts.

Make Oil and Gas Emissions Cap Fit for 1.5°, MPs Urge Ottawa
The federal government should introduce an oil and gas emissions cap that aligns with a 1.5°C limit on average global warming and creates incentives for innovation without favouring any specific technology, the Commons Natural Resources Committee concludes in a report issued last week.

Remembering Three Climate Heroes We Lost This Year
Three influential Canadian climate activist-scholars died this year. They devoted their professional lives to finding solutions to the climate change crisis in the face of industry and government resistance that has dragged on for decades.

‘Shockwave’: HSBC Refuses New Oil and Gas Field Investments, But Not in Canada
The world’s eighth-largest bank and Europe’s current biggest funder of fossil fuel expansion, HSBC Holdings, has announced it will no longer invest in new oil and gas fields. But its Canadian branch is exempt from the new policy.

Biggest Spill in Keystone’s History Dumps Oil into Kansas Creek
A ruptured pipe dumped enough oil late last week into a northeastern Kansas creek to nearly fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool, becoming the largest onshore crude pipeline spill in nine years and surpassing all the previous ones on the same pipeline system combined, according to U.S. government data.

Renewables Advocate Wins Hotly Contested Seat on Louisiana Regulatory Panel
Newcomer Davante Lewis, a Democrat backed by an environmental political action committee, easily won Saturday’s runoff for a seat on Louisiana’s Public Service Commission, an obscure regulatory body that has received national attention from media, celebrities, climate activists, and major public utility companies.

Reject Fossil Development, Honour Climate Commitments, B.C. Groups Urge Eby
As liquefied natural gas (LNG) interests press for political support, British Columbia Premier David Eby must double down on his acknowledgement that any further fossil buildout will sink the province’s climate goals, the president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs says, in an op ed co-published with other leading climate advocates.

Petition Delivers 82,622 Signatures Demanding Oil and Gas Emissions Cap
With the COP 27 climate summit in full swing in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Canadian climate hawks were in Ottawa yesterday delivering more than 80,000 petition signatures—82,622, to be exact—calling on the Trudeau government to make good on its promise to impose an emissions cap on the country’s oil and gas industry.

CCUS Mostly Shut Out, Renewables Get Tax Credit in Federal Economic Statement
A pitch for private investment in emission reduction projects, including tax credits for renewable energy, low-carbon heating, and clean hydrogen, is one of the highlights of the fall economic statement released Thursday by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Fall Economic Statement Today Raises Spectre of New CCS Subsidy
With Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland set to deliver her fall economic statement later today, climate and energy analysts are watching closely to see whether she sweetens the already lavish subsidies the Trudeau government extended to carbon capture and storage (CCS) in its 2022 budget.

RBC Net-Zero Report Sets Soft Target for Fossil Producers, Aims to ‘Help Clients’ Do Better
The Royal Bank of Canada is out with a long-awaited net-zero strategy that sets a far softer target than the emerging international standard for financial institutions, while touting its ability to engage with clients in the fossil sector and beyond to drive emission reductions.

Coastal GasLink Builders Sued for Millions in Unpaid Work
Coastal GasLink and a former prime contractor with alleged links to organized crime are being sued by four companies, working in partnership with three First Nations communities, for allegedly failing to pay an outstanding C$10 million for services rendered.

EXCLUSIVE: Rumoured Keystone Pipeline Sale Could Increase Spill Risk
Analyst chatter about TC Energy considering selling off the controversial Keystone pipeline could raise the risk of a major spill or leak, but still improve the Calgary-based pipeliner’s rating for environmental responsibility, The Energy Mix has learned.

Canada Will ‘Bend the Curve’ on Emissions, Keep Up with U.S. Incentives, Trudeau Says
Canada will meet its climate targets and “bend the curve” on emissions, while the United States enacts new incentives to make up for its failure to put a price on carbon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday during a last-minute appearance at a climate conference in downtown Ottawa.

Ottawa Overspends on CCS, Neglects Worker Skills: Iron & Earth
Energy transition support in the federal government’s 2022 budget favoured carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCS) over the best opportunities for rapid decarbonization, Iron & Earth Executive Director Luisa Da Silva told a Parliamentary committee Tuesday.

Canada Will Support ‘Economically Feasible’ LNG, Freeland Says
Canada is open to supporting “economically feasible” liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects to help countries like Germany reduce reliance on coal in the midst of a global energy crunch, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told media Friday, at the close of annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, DC.

Oilsands Alliance Demands Federal Backing for $24.1B CCS Project
Canada’s biggest oilsands companies have announced a conditional C$24.1-billion investment in a carbon capture and storage facility and pipeline along with other emissions reduction projects, just a week after an analysis showed them receiving $15 billion in federal subsidies so far this year.

‘Smokescreen’ Masks $17B Taxpayer Cost for Trans Mountain Pipeline
The federal government is relying on “irrelevant” analysis and a “smokescreen” on public information to justify the $17 billion Canadian taxpayers are likely to pay for the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline, a veteran analyst warns.

Record Methane Leak from Nord Stream Pipelines is ‘Catastrophic for Climate’
Methane leaking from the damaged Nord Stream pipelines is likely the biggest burst of the climate super-pollutant on record by far, and countries in the region suspect this week’s undersea explosions were a case of sabotage.

Canada Can’t Hit Net-Zero Goals without Fossil Fuels, RBC Maintains
Even as a growing number of activists urge financial institutions to take action against climate change by reducing funding to the fossil fuel sector, executives with Canada’s largest bank say the country won’t reach its net-zero goals without the oil and gas sector.

Wisconsin Judge Backs Indigenous Band, Stops Short of Shutting Down Line 5 Pipeline
The Line 5 pipeline has won a stay of execution in Wisconsin, where a federal judge sided with an Indigenous group’s complaint but stopped short of ordering the controversial cross-border energy link shut down entirely.

#TBT: Queen Elizabeth’s Banker Dumps Extreme Fossil Investments
June 28, 2020: Coutts, the private banker to Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of the British royal family, has promised to drop its investments in the tar sands/oil sands, Arctic oil and gas exploration, and thermal coal extraction and generation, and to reduce the carbon intensity of its holdings 25% by the end of next year.

Fossils Can Cut Methane Emissions to ‘Near-Zero’ When Regulators Get Serious, Study Shows
A new case study from Alberta shows that when regulators force the issue and producers of fossil fuels get serious, the companies can drastically reduce their methane emissions without any immediate reduction in their oil and gas extraction.

People in Appalachia ‘Refuse to Be Sacrificed’ for Mountain Valley Gas Pipeline
Environmental advocates celebrated when U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law earlier this month. But the joy is tempered by lingering caution about a murky side bargain purported to streamline oil and gas projects, Energy News Network reports.

NDP Backing for Trudeau Government May Hinge on ‘Big Commitment’ to Just Transition
An NDP Member of Parliament is hinting that his party’s continuing support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government might hinge on a “big financial commitment” to a just transition for fossil fuel workers and communities.

U.S. Judge Squashes Michigan’s Bid to Keep Line 5 Case Out of Federal Court
The international dispute over Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5 pipeline belongs in federal court, a Michigan judge declared Thursday, dealing a critical blow to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s bid to shut down the controversial cross-border oil and gas line.

No Path for Canadian LNG Exports to Europe, IISD Analysis Concludes
With the European Union striving to slash its demand for Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of this year and end all its dependence on Russian fossil fuels by 2027, there’s no path for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada to help the continent meet its short-term energy needs, the International Institute for Sustainable Development concludes in a policy brief released Tuesday.

Guilbeault Considering Alternatives to Releasing Toxic Tailings into Athabasca River
Releasing treated tar sands/oil sands tailings into the environment isn’t the only solution being considered to clean up the massive toxic ponds in northern Alberta, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says.

Trans Mountain Work Site Blocks Early Salmon Run on Coquihalla River, Local Observers Say
Campaigners and local residents are using photos, video, and drone footage to document a Trans Mountain pipeline work site they say is impeding an early salmon run and leaving dead fish along the Coquihalla River in British Columbia.

Focus Blame for Climate Change on Fossils and Governments, Ecoanalytics Advises
This month’s EcoA Tip highlights some useful data showing who Canadians tend to blame for climate change. The research comes from a national survey conducted by EcoAnalytics, a non-profit initiative that provides data, analysis, and guidance to strengthen Canada’s environmental movement.

Ontario Pension Giant May Be Getting the Memo on Fossil Divestment, Members Say
As the burning of fossil fuels presents us with yet another summer of catastrophic impacts, the pressure is growing for pension funds to either phase out their oil, gas, coal, and pipeline assets or explain how they’re aligned with a safe retirement future for their beneficiaries. And Canada’s seventh-largest fund, the C$121-billion Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS), may be getting the memo, three of its members write for Corporate Knights.

Fossils Dismiss Federal Emissions Cap as ‘Aggressive’, ‘Unrealistic’
Canada’s biggest fossil companies are lining up to dismiss the federal government’s new emissions cap for their sector as “very aggressive” and “almost unrealistic”, even as Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault hastens to offer them flexibility and an extended deadline to hit the long-awaited target.

Koch Network Pressures Manchin, Sinema as Advocates Praise ‘Game Changing’ Climate Deal
Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity turned up the heat on swing-vote senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, a wider network of business groups stepped up to defend the deal, and environmental justice campaigners decried concessions to oil and gas as advocates absorbed the details of the $369.75-billion climate and clean energy package announced last week by Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer.

Coastal GasLink Cost Skyrockets 70% to $11.2B
The projected cost of the contentious Coastal GasLink pipeline spanning northern British Columbia has skyrocketed 70% to C$11.2 billion in the wake of a freshly-inked deal between operator TC Energy Corporation and the group building a liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal on the West Coast.

‘Watchful Optimism’ from Climate Analysts as Canada Energy Regulator Plots Net-Zero Future
With the Canada Energy Regulator still months away from completing its next projection of the country’s future oil and gas production, climate policy watchers are cautiously optimistic that the analysis will chart a real course for a low-carbon future—and rooting for the CER to get its modelling right.

‘Devil in the Details’ as Ottawa Releases Options for Oil and Gas Emissions Cap
An initial proposal for an oil and gas emissions cap that is a cornerstone of Canada’s 2030 climate strategy is generating glimmers of hope but early skepticism on all sides, after Environment and Climate Minister Steven Guilbeault opened public consultations on the plan earlier this week.

Keystone Pipeline Outage Coincides with Local Heat Wave, TC Energy Blames ‘Third-Party Damage’
A heat emergency earlier this week in the U.S. Great Plains region forced the operator of the Keystone pipeline, Calgary-based TC Energy, to cut back its flow of what Bloomberg Markets calls a “crucial grade of oil” to refineries.

Oil’s Decline Endangers Jobs Far Beyond Alberta’s Fossil Sector, New Study Finds
Changes in global oil prices and markets will continue to destabilize jobs in Alberta, and declining oil demand due to the shift off carbon will have job impacts far beyond the province’s fossil sector without the right mix of just transition policies, an Oxford University research team concludes in a paper published this morning in the journal Climate Policy.

Michigan Regulator Probes Safety Risks of Line 5 Pipeline Tunnel
A Michigan regulatory panel said Thursday it needs more information about safety risks before it can rule on Calgary-based Enbridge Energy’s plan to extend the Line 5 pipeline through a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The state Public Service Commission voted 3-0 to seek further details about the potential for explosions and fires involving […]

BREAKING: No Public Finance for East Coast LNG Projects, Wilkinson Says
There will be no federal financing for two companies vying to export Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe from terminals on the East Coast, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in a recent interview with the Globe and Mail.

Fossils Won’t Hit 2030 Carbon Target Without Cutting Production, Federal Analysis Shows
Internal analysis by federal officials raises tough questions about whether the Canadian fossil industry can achieve the 81 megatonnes of emissions cuts the Trudeau government has promised by 2030 without cutting production, according to confidential documents obtained by the Globe and Mail.

Farmers, Indigenous Groups, Environmentalists Unite Against Midwest CO2 Pipeline
An “unlikely” alliance of rural conservatives, environmentalists, and Indigenous groups is resisting the potential use of the eminent domain doctrine—a legal tool that allows private land to be seized for perceived public good—to build America’s largest carbon dioxide pipeline.

Takaro Doesn’t Deserve Prison for Tree-Sitting Pipeline Protest, Boothroyd Argues
Public health doctor, pipeline protester, and renowned tree-sitter Tim Takaro doesn’t deserve four weeks in prison for violating a court injunction against blocking construction of the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, climate communicator James Boothroyd writes in an op ed for the Toronto Star.

Line 5 Closure Brings Negligible Rise in Gas Prices, Enbridge Consultant Finds
A consulting report for Enbridge Inc. estimates the closure of the Line 5 pipeline would lead to an increase of one to two cents per litre in gasoline prices for Ontarians and Quebecers, a revelation that has reignited debate on the true economic impacts of shuttering an aging pipeline with very clear environmental risks.

‘Extreme Act of Aggression’: Alberta Warns Ottawa Against Windfall Profit Tax on Fossils
Alberta’s energy minister is warning that anything resembling the United Kingdom’s windfall profits tax on oil and gas companies must not be implemented in Canada, adding that any federal action in that direction would be an “extreme act of aggression”.

EU’s Plans for New Gas Infrastructure Breach Climate Rules, Lawyers Say
The European Union’s plan to build new natural gas infrastructure is illegal under its own climate laws and won’t solve the fossil energy crunch triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine, climate lawyers with London, UK-based Client Earth are arguing.

Dismantle Nord Stream 2 Pipeline to Head Off Ecological Damage, EU Groups Urge
Environmental groups are warning that the 1,200-kilometre Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea could become an environmental hazard and a source of atmospheric methane if it is left to decay after stopping routine service and maintenance.

B.C. Charges 15 Wet’suwet’en Defenders with Criminal Contempt
The British Columbia Prosecution Service said 15 people are being charged with criminal contempt of court following protests last fall over a natural gas pipeline being built near Houston in northern B.C. Those charged are alleged to have breached a B.C. Supreme Court injunction granted to the controversial Coastal GasLink pipeline in 2019 that prohibited […]

EU Turns to Methane-Leaking Algeria in Bid to Cut Russian Fuel Imports
As the European Union rushes to wean itself off fossil fuels from Russia, it is exploring a “you collect/we buy” scheme to import more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Algeria, while simultaneously addressing massive methane leaks in the North African nation’s facilities.

Federal Backing Made Bankers’ $10B Pipeline Loan an Easy Decision, Analyst Says
The decision by Canada’s six biggest banks to sink another $10 billion into the troubled Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is no surprise after a federal loan guarantee made it a straightforward business decision to back the project, says the financial analyst who accurately predicted the decision 2½ months ago.

U.S. Ambassador Draws Alberta’s Ire by Favouring ‘Cleaner Energy’
The Biden administration has become the latest target of the Alberta government’s enduring sense of grievance, after Ambassador David Cohen declared a “return to civility” following the Trump years but expressed skepticism about increasing his country’s imports of Canadian oil and gas.

Alberta Oil Operations Leak Billions of Litres of Toxic Waste Per Year, Study Finds
Forty years of largely unregulated growth have left 1.4 trillion litres of toxic tar sands/oil sands tailings sloshing around in “ponds” on the shores of the Athabasca River, devastating ecosystems and First Nations communities with neither plan nor budget for reclamation, says a new report from Environmental Defence.

Alberta Fossils Log Emission Cuts by Exporting Them
The current linchpin in Canadian Big Oil’s plan to be carbon neutral by 2050 is its apparent success at reducing the emissions intensity of each barrel of oil produced, a claim that relies on a form of creative accounting that treats a tonne of emissions exported to another country as a tonne removed from the atmosphere.

Trade Protection for Fossils Could Add Hundreds of Billions to Cost of Climate Action
Fossil fuel companies have access to an obscure legal tool that could jeopardize worldwide efforts to protect the climate, and they’re starting to use it. The result could cost countries that press ahead with those efforts billions of dollars.

$10B Loan Guarantee for Trans Mountain Pipeline is Latest Federal Subsidy, Critics Say
The federal government has approved a new, approximately C$10-billion loan guarantee for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, a move it says is common practice and does not reflect any additional public funding for the high-profile, over-budget oil pipeline.

Wisconsin Band Seeks Ruling to Evict Enbridge Line 5 from Indigenous Territory
A Wisconsin Indigenous band is seeking a permit to immediately evict the Line 5 pipeline from its land, creating a second shutdown risk for a piece of fossil infrastructure that has already faced closure threats from the Michigan government, as well as other Indigenous and environmental groups.

Insurance Giant Allianz Sets Oil and Gas Exit Strategy
The world’s fifth-largest insurance company, Munich-based Allianz, is withdrawing coverage and investment dollars from a wide swath of fossil fuel projects as of next year, and will stop insuring its existing fossil clients when their policies come up for renewal.

May 3 Day of Action Pushes Canada to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Most Canadian politicians still don’t understand the most important thing about fossil fuel subsidies, writes UNB’s Jason MacLean: Eliminating all financial support for the fossil fuel industry is a necessary first step in completely phasing out fossil production and consumption in Canada.

Wet’suwet’en, Hollywood Team Up to Demand RBC Divest from Coastal GasLink Pipeline
Divest from the Coastal GasLink pipeline or Hollywood will divest from you was the message for the Royal Bank of Canada, delivered last week by Office of the Wet’suwet’en spokesperson Sleydo’ Molly Wickham and climate activist and actor Mark Ruffalo.

Lavish CCUS Subsidy Still Not Enough to Motivate Fossils, Cenovus CEO Says
The intensely controversial investment tax credit unveiled by the federal government earlier this month isn’t enough to convince Canada’s major tar sands/oil sands producers to begin construction on a proposed massive carbon capture and storage transportation line, the chief executive of Cenovus Energy Inc. said Wednesday.

‘Disgraceful’ to Study Resource Sector Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls, Conservative MP Says
A private email shows a Conservative MP from Alberta calling an NDP-initiated study into the relationship between resource development and increased violence against Indigenous women and girls “disgraceful.”

Zest for Tar Sands/Oil Sands Fades as CNOOC Looks to Exit Alberta
A decision just a decade ago to invest heavily in the Alberta tar sands/oil sands has turned out to be a big liability for the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)—and now the company is looking to sell off its Long Lake and Hangingstone operations before being hit by sanctions related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Michigan to Consider Climate Impacts in Assessing Line 5 Pipeline Tunnel
In an administrative first, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) has announced it will consider the climate impacts of the four-mile (6.5-kilometre) tunnel that Calgary-based Enbridge is proposing to build beneath the Straits of Mackinac to house the controversial Line 5 pipeline.

Pandemic Year Cuts Canada’s Emissions 9%, Oil Sands Show Only Modest Drop
Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 66 million tonnes during the first year of the pandemic. But not all of those gains likely survived the economic recovery in 2021, and only a small share of the emission cuts came from the Alberta tar sands/oil sands, according to the government’s latest National Inventory Report released late last week.

Quebec Becomes World’s First Jurisdiction to Ban Oil and Gas Exploration
In what campaigners are calling a world first, Quebec’s National Assembly voted Tuesday afternoon to ban new oil and gas exploration and shut down existing drill sites within three years, even as the promoters behind the failed Énergie Saguenay liquefied natural gas (LNG) project try to revive it as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Is CCUS Tax Credit the ‘Put Up or Shut Up’ Moment for Canadian Fossils?
In the hours and days after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unveiled a budget that promised $7.1 billion in subsidies for carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technology, one of the most intriguing questions was whether the government was finally calling the fossil industry’s bluff on emission reductions—whether or not it meant to.

EU LNG Imports Produce Fewer Emissions than Russia’s Piped Gas
The European Union’s fuel supply options carry different implications for the climate, according to a life cycle assessment released while the continent is rethinking energy policy from between the rock of Russia’s war on Ukraine and the hard place of a looming energy supply crisis.

Alberta Caribou Recovery Plan Delays Tough Decisions by a Decade
The Alberta government has released recovery plans for two herds of threatened caribou in the province’s north that it says will bring the amount of usable habitat on their ranges up to the level required by a deal signed with Ottawa, The Canadian Press reports.

Ontario Pension Plan Cited as Climate Leader, Still Falls Short on Emissions Disclosure
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) has “solidified its position as a climate leader among Canadian pension funds,” but still isn’t fully heeding its members’ calls to invest in a climate-safe future, according to an independent analysis of its annual report released late last month.

U.S. Regulator Walks Back Plan to Assess Gas Projects for Climate, Environmental Justice Impacts
Amid pushback from industry groups and both Republican and Democratic politicians, U.S. energy regulators scaled back plans late last month to consider how natural gas projects affect climate change and environmental justice.

RBC, TD Lead 51% Rise in Tar Sands/Oil Sands Investment as Biggest Banks Fund Climate Chaos
Fossil investment from the world’s 60 biggest banks hit US$4.6 trillion in the six years since the Paris climate agreement was signed, while the Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank led a 51% increase in tar sands/oil sands investment last year, according to the latest edition of the annual Banking on Climate Chaos report released Wednesday.

Fossils Fret About ‘Uncertainty’ in Federal Emissions Plan
Canada’s oil and gas industry says it’s been left in the dark about exactly how much it will be required to reduce its emissions in the coming decade, after the federal government’s new Emissions Reduction Plan made it clear that fossils must bring their carbon pollution down 42% from 2019 levels by 2030.

Easier Ride for Fossils, But $9.1B in Climate Funding as Ottawa Releases 2030 Plan
The fossil and transportation sectors get a relatively free ride and electricity producers do the most to decarbonize in the much-anticipated 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan released yesterday by Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault.

Analysis: ‘Sink or Swim Time’ for Fossil Emissions May Hinge on Lavish Federal Subsidies
With the federal government’s new Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) due for release any day, news commentary is focusing on the central role of oil and gas in hitting the 2030 target—and what it’ll cost taxpayers to secure the industry’s cooperation.

New Senate Bill Targets Financial Institutions that ‘Fuel Climate Risk’
Federal financial institutions and federal-regulated entities would have to line up their investment activities with Canada’s climate commitments under Bill S-243, the Climate-Aligned Finance Act introduced in Senate yesterday by Sen. Rosa Galvez (ISG-Quebec).

Big Banks, Insurers Fail to Back Net-Zero Promises with Oil and Gas Restrictions
Although many of the world’s biggest financial institutions have been vocal about their climate commitments, fewer than half of them have introduced policies to restrict new oil and gas investments or phase out existing ones, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis released earlier this week by Reclaim Finance and more than a dozen advocacy groups.

Fossils Must Pull Their Weight, Cut Emissions 45% This Decade, Analysts Say
Canada’s long-awaited 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) must set legally-binding limits for the oil and gas industry that are “coherent with national targets”, since “other sectors would be required to do even more for Canada to achieve its target” if fossils failed to pull their weight, the country’s Net-Zero Advisory Body said in its official advice to the government earlier this week.

New Online Tool Matches Canadian Oil and Gas Workers With Renewables Jobs
Iron & Earth has launched a new online tool to help Canadian fossil fuel workers move into careers in the net-zero economy, matching their skills to trades and administration positions in wind, solar, energy efficiency, electric vehicle charging, and more.

Groundwater Breaks During Line 3 Construction Release 200 Million Gallons Near Minnesota Indigenous Reservation
The damage to public groundwater resources in Minnesota from missteps during construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline is more severe than previously known, state environmental regulators said earlier this week.

Liberal-NDP Deal Delivers More Stability, Not Enough Climate Action, Analysts Warn
The federal Liberals and New Democrats must make good use of the next three-plus years of political stability by embracing more decisive climate action than they promised in the supply and confidence agreement (CSA) unveiled yesterday, leading climate policy analysts have told The Energy Mix.

TMX is ‘Economic Version of Smallpox Blanket’ for Indigenous Buyers, UBCIC Warns
The contentious Trans Mountain pipeline project could be the “modern-day economic version of a smallpox blanket,” the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs warned last week, in an open letter to the several Indigenous consortia that are lining up for a possible financial stake in the project.

Chambers of Commerce Back Line 5 Pipeline as Michigan AG Scorches Corporate ‘Propaganda’
Business leaders from the United States and Canada are again wading into the fray over Line 5, citing the energy crisis brought on by Russia’s war in Ukraine to accuse the state of Michigan of dragging its heels to keep the controversial cross-border pipeline in a state of legal limbo.

Fund Renewables Transition with Record Oil and Gas Profits, Columnist Urges
With oil prices soaring, Canada’s fossil industry is reaping record profits that ought to be invested in a low-carbon transition, not spent as returns for shareholders, says a Montreal-based finance professor who’s urging the feds to force the sector’s hand—to address the climate crisis, and for the workers who will inevitably suffer when fossil fortunes tank.

Russian Oligarch Facing Ukraine Sanctions Supplied Trans Mountain, Coastal GasLink Pipelines
Steelworkers in Regina and politicians at all levels were scrambling to assess the local implications Friday after the federal government extended its Ukraine sanctions list to include Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, a close associate of Vladimir Putin and part owner of the steel mill that produced pipe for the Trans Mountain and Coastal GasLink pipelines.

TC Energy Spends Big on ‘Indigenous-Washing’ for Coastal GasLink Pipeline
Oil and gas companies and lobby groups in Canada are heavily investing in campaigns to present themselves as defenders of Indigenous interests in the face of high-profile protests against a controversial natural gas pipeline on First Nation land, a new investigation by Eco-Bot.Net and the Guardian has found.

2030 Climate Plan May Fail Without Faster Emissions Cap, Deeper Cuts for Fossils, Analysts Warn
The Trudeau government may be left with big gaps in its 2030 climate strategy if it delays its oil and gas emissions cap until 2023, or holds off on setting tough carbon reduction targets for the industry, according to news reports this week.

Trans Mountain Won’t Get Investors without Government Guarantee, IEEFA Concludes
Just two weeks after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland declared that no more federal tax dollars will go into the financially troubled Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, analysts are warning that investors won’t touch the C$21.4-billion megaproject without government backing.

16 First Nations Sign Up for 10% Share of Coastal GasLink Pipeline
Sixteen Indigenous communities along the Coastal GasLink pipeline route have signed option agreements for an equity stake in the project, a move that one Indigenous leader hopes will set a precedent for future energy infrastructure projects in Canada.

EU to Cut Russian Gas Use 65% This Year as Analysts Urge Faster Shift to Renewables
Following a dramatic pledge yesterday to reduce its dependence on Russian gas by 65% this year and phase out all Russian fossil fuels “well before 2030”, the European Union is under pressure to replace gas from all sources through a rapid transition to energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Climate Hawks Fracture on CCS Subsidy, McKenna Questions Tax Credit as Federal Budget Looms
The prospect of a new tax credit for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology in this year’s federal budget has battle lines drawn across the Canadian climate community, with sharp disagreements on whether fossil companies should qualify for taxpayer support and a former federal environment minister maintaining it’s time for them to pay their own way.

Analysis: From Gas to Renewables to Efficiency, Putin’s War Has EU Scrambling for Energy Independence
With Vladimir Putin’s devastating war in Ukraine now well into its second week, news coverage and commentary are turning to the steps other European countries can take to break their dependence on Russian oil and gas, once and for all.

Latest Cost Hike Makes Trans Mountain a ‘Delusion’, Tsleil-Waututh Say
In light of the Canadian federal government’s decision to not provide additional funding for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation Sacred Trust is calling the viability of the pipeline a “delusion,” and reaffirming its position that the project needs to be halted.

Conservative ‘Climate Hawk’ Pitches New Gas Pipelines to Counter Putin’s Aggression
Parliament spent a good part of its day yesterday debating whether fast-tracking new pipelines to the Atlantic coast would help displace Russian natural gas in Europe, after Conservative foreign affairs critic and repeat GreenPAC endorsee Michael Chong tabled a motion positioning Canadian fossil fuel production as a response to Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Advocates Urge End to Fossil Addiction as Attack Sets Nuclear Plant Site on Fire
Ukraine energy and civil society organizations called for an end to the “global fossil fuel addiction that feeds Putin’s war machine” Wednesday, less than 48 hours before the advance of that war machine left a fire burning on the site of Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia facility in the coastal city of Enerhodar.

Think Tank Calls for Steep Carbon Cuts in Fossil and Power Sectors, Says Canada Will Still Miss 2030 Goal
Canada cannot realistically expect to hit its current target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40 to 45% by 2030, and should instead set a more modest goal while leaning heavily on the electricity and fossil fuel sectors for deep carbon cuts during this decade, a new think tank report concludes this week.

Russia’s Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline Files for Bankruptcy
The Swiss-based company behind the US$11-billion Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has declared bankruptcy and laid off all its staff, after Germany suspended final certification of the intensely controversial project in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the United States followed with economic sanctions.

Analysis: Fossil Fuel Demand Funds Ukraine War as Putin Grabs for Influence
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its fifth day, with colossal fossil BP pulling its US$14-billion investment in state oil company Rosneft, analysts are pointing to fossil fuels as both a cause and a beneficiary of an intense and brutal war, while others urge a faster transition to renewable energy as an antidote to Vladimir Putin’s aggression.

Putin’s War in Ukraine Displaces Climate as Top Concern, Drives Oil Prices to 8-Year High
The climate emergency was pushed to the back burner in international relations and oil prices hit US$105 per barrel this week after Russian President Vladimir Putin capped weeks of escalating tensions by launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Dakota Access Pipeline Headed for Environmental Review After Striking Out at U.S. Supreme Court
The operator of the contested Dakota Access pipeline in North and South Dakota has failed in its effort to sidestep a new environmental review that could ultimately shut it down, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Gas Pipeline, Severe Drought Bring Climate Dimensions to Ukraine Crisis
Earlier this month, as speculation that Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine mounted, ABC News reported that “the spectre of a military confrontation” was “pumping fresh life into the debate over whether U.S. President Joe Biden’s climate agenda is brushing up against difficult geopolitical realities.”

‘Out of Control’ Trans Mountain Pipeline Will Cost $21.4B, Still Need Taxpayers to Back Private Investors
There’s virtually no chance private financiers will put up billions of dollars to complete the Trans Mountain pipeline without a federal loan guarantee, analysts say, despite Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s assurance Friday that “no additional public money” will be invested in a project whose cost has now ballooned from $5.4 to $21.4 billion.

FERC Introduces Tougher Impact Assessments, New Climate Rules for Gas Infrastructure
The U.S. regulator responsible for natural gas infrastructure is taking a closer look at whether new projects are needed and how they affect people and the environment, and floating new policy to address the climate impact of fossil gas development.

RBC Shareholder Vote to Challenge ‘Green Coat of Paint on Business-as-Usual’
A shareholder vote will decide whether the Royal Bank of Canada should tighten up its standards for sustainable finance, after a deal last year in which it helped Calgary-based Enbridge issue a sustainability-linked loan and bond while building a new section of its controversial Line 3 pipeline.

Report Undercuts Enbridge Claim that Line 5 is Crucial for Oil Delivery
There are viable, cost-effective shipping alternatives to the contested Line 5 pipeline in Michigan—both for crude oil and natural gas—according to a new report that contradicts Enbridge’s claim the pipeline is a critical piece of infrastructure for refineries in Michigan, Ontario, and Quebec.

‘This Is Sedition’: Ottawa Insurrection Has Roots in Pro-Pipeline, Pro-Fossil Convoy
With the illegal insurrection in Canada’s capital now entering its third week, close observers are linking the occupation to past protests supporting pipelines and fossil fuels, digging into the white supremacist funding and logistics behind the convoy, and spotlighting the increasingly serious health impacts for downtown Ottawa residents exposed to round-the-clock noxious diesel fumes, deafening truck horns, and random harassment and intimidation in their neighbourhoods.

Cenovus CEO Says High Oil Prices Won’t Last, Rejects ‘Spending Spree’ on New Projects
The CEO of one of Canada’s leading tar sands/oil sands companies is admitting that this year’s surge in global oil prices won’t last, projecting future prices that set the broader industry on a course for financial failure.

Trans Mountain Cost Pushes Past $17B, Completion Delayed to 2023
The price tag for the federally-owned Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has ballooned to more than $17 billion, en route to a final cost that could hit $20 billion, and project completion has been delayed to 2023 or 2024, according to a new analysis published late Thursday.

Record Fossil Extraction from Canada, U.S., Norway Despite Fervent Climate Pledges
The United States, Norway, and Canada are set to produce more oil this year than ever before, despite solemn pronouncements at last year’s COP 26 climate summit on the urgent need for climate action, Oil Change International asserts in a new analysis.

Fossils Withdraw from Myanmar Over Human Rights Abuses Amid Accusations of Complicity
As colossal fossils TotalÉnergies and Chevron Oil withdraw from Myanmar, citing the ongoing brutality of the ruling junta against protesters, campaigners say oil and gas companies have been complicit in propping up the violent regime.

Ditch Plans for Carbon Capture Tax Credit, 400+ Climate Scientists, Academics Urge Freeland
The federal government’s plan to introduce a tax credit for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology hit the top tier of the Canadian climate agenda this week, after more than 400 climate scientists and other academics wrote to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland urging her to drop the idea.

Canada’s Biggest Climate Polluters Pay Lowest Carbon Prices, Research Shows
Canada is heralded as having one of the most ambitious prices on carbon in the world, rising from its current C$40 per tonne to $170 by 2030. But large industrial emitters pay only a tiny fraction of it, Corporate Knights reports.

Exxon Releases ‘Net-Zero’ Roadmap, Ignores Lion’s Share of Emissions
Colossal fossil ExxonMobil has unveiled what news reports are calling an “asset-by-asset roadmap” to bring greenhouse gas emissions from its operations to zero by 2050, but leaves out the much larger climate impacts of burning those products once they’ve reached their final users.

Carbon Capture Tax Credit Likely for 2022 Budget, Wilkinson Says
Canada is getting set to roll out a tax credit to support fossil companies’ investments in carbon capture and storage (CCS), Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson confirmed in a telephone interview with Bloomberg News this week.

Feds Extend Climate Plan Consultation as Fossils Signal Future Emissions Growth
Citing “overwhelming interest” from the public, the federal government is extending the consultation deadline on its plan to meet a 40 to 45% carbon reduction target by 2030, while the fossil industry signals plans to continue expanding the oil and gas extraction that drives those emissions higher.

Trans Mountain Responds on Fraser River Tunnel, Faces Hearing on Fire Safety
Opponents of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion are still raising concerns about plans to redrill a complicated crossing beneath the Fraser River, after the federal Crown corporation behind the project filed a response to their statement of opposition with the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER).

‘Big Oil’ Becoming ‘Small Oil’ as European Fossils Begin Shift to Renewables
‘Big Oil’ is showing initial signs of a transition to ‘Small Oil’, as a handful of large European fossil fuel companies invest windfall revenues from high oil prices to begin their shift to lower-carbon investments—even if Canadian fossils still haven’t got the memo.

ANALYSIS: Coastal GasLink, LNG Controversies Will Haunt B.C. NDP in 2022
A major piece of unfinished business left behind at the end of last year looks certain to haunt British Columbia in 2022, as the province’s NDP government faces determined Indigenous opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline and the project itself runs into serious financial headwinds.

BREAKING: Trans Mountain Pipeline Faces Scrutiny on Soil Stability, Fraser River Impact
The federal Crown corporation building the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion has been handed a seven-day deadline to answer tough questions about soil stability, drilling method, and environmental impacts after proposing to redrill and reroute part of a 1.5-kilometre tunnel beneath the Fraser River, an iconic salmon-bearing waterway near the Lower Mainland population centre of Coquitlam.

Power Grids at Severe Risk from Rising Seas, Severe Storms, Wildfires
Nearly one-fifth of the power lines around the world are at severe risk from sea level rise, severe storms, and wildfires, and U.S. utilities alone could face US$4.1 billion per year in climate impacts, according to new analysis released this week by BloombergNEF.

Trudeau Mandate Letters Boost Deep Retrofits and Tougher Building Code, Ignore Pipelines
Deep energy retrofits and tougher building code standards emerged as winners, while fossil fuel pipelines received no attention at all, as policy analysts dug more deeply into the ministerial mandate letters released in mid-December by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

$11 Million Per Minute in Fossil Subsidies ‘Add Fuel to the Fire’, IMF Study Showed
October 7, 2021: The coal, oil, and gas industries received US$5.9 trillion in worldwide subsidies in 2020—a mind-bending $11.2 million per minute, every minute of every hour of every day in the year—the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revealed.

‘Wildly Optimistic’ to Expect Energy Regulator to Embrace Net-Zero, Veteran Energy Executive Warned
December 17, 2021: The Canada Energy Regulator is so closely tied to the fossil industry that it can’t be counted on to produce independent advice on the country’s path to net-zero—yet it’s considered the leading source of in-house energy modelling the Trudeau government has at its disposal, according to an independent expert commenting on the CER’s deeply flawed energy futures report released earlier this month.

Trans Mountain Lost 16th Insurer as Industry Giant Chubb Walked Away
September 14, 2021: The world’s biggest publicly-traded provider of property and casualty insurance, Chubb, became the 16th insurer to declare that it won’t back the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline, a coalition of climate and Indigenous campaigners announced.

Exxon Ripped Up $30-Billion Rebuilding Plan, Could Declare Stranded Assets at Kearl Lake
August 7, 2021: ExxonMobil’s massive Kearl Lake mine north of Fort McMurray was at risk of becoming the latest tar sands/oil sands to be devalued as one of the world’s most determined colossal fossils considered designating up to one-fifth of its global oil and gas reserves as stranded assets, part of a company-wide scramble to respond to crashing oil prices and weak markets for its product.

New Carbon Capture Tax Credit Would Drive Higher Emissions, Could Mislead Investors
March 24, 2021: A new federal incentive, modelled on a U.S. tax credit for carbon capture, utilization and storage, would be tailor-made to drive higher greenhouse gas emissions and could produce unexpected surprises for private investors, a veteran U.S. energy consultant and attorney told The Energy Mix.

LNG Canada On Track to Become ‘Financial Albatross’, Analysts Warned
November 25, 2021: British Columbia’s only confirmed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal may be on its way to becoming a “financial albatross”, even as a developer continues to tout a second LNG project in Howe Sound, just north of Vancouver.

Canada to Phase Out International Public Financing for Fossil Fuels
November 3, 2021: Canada was to join a group of about 20 countries and institutions to announce an end to public financing for oil, gas, and coal projects by the end of 2022, Le Devoir reported, putting an end to anxious speculation about whether the Trudeau government would sign on to what was seen as a pivotal pledge during this year’s United Nations climate summit, COP 26, in Glasgow.

Careful What You Wish For: New Pipeline Drives Down Export Prices for Alberta Fossils
October 31, 2021: After years of blaming limited pipeline access for the low price they’ve had to charge for their product, Alberta fossil producers were running into another problem by mid-fall: U.S. refineries don’t particularly like the product.

Whatcom County Became First U.S. Refinery Community to Ban New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure
July 29, 2021: A county on the northwest coast of Washington State made a landmark decision to ban new fossil fuel development, reversing a trajectory that had it on course to become a gateway for oil, gas, and coal exports to Asia.

Pipeline Association Shutting Down after Losing ‘Critical Mass’ of Members
October 7, 2021: Alberta’s energy minister accused her former pipeline industry colleagues of being “really short-sighted” after the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA) announced plans to shut down by the end of the year.

32 Arrested at Pipeline Blockade as B.C. Diverted 50 RCMP from Emergency Flood Response
November 21, 2021: Heavily-armed RCMP agents stormed an Indigenous blockade and arrested 32 people, including Gidimt’en Clan spokesperson Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham) and two journalists, in another escalation of the dispute over construction of the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline through unceded Wet’suwet’en territory.

Canada Must Leave 83% of Fossil Fuels in the Ground in Latest 1.5°C Scenario
September 9, 2021: Canada must leave 83% of its fossil fuel reserves and 84% of its tar sands/oil sands in the ground if the world is to have even a 50% chance of holding average global warming to 1.5°C, according to a paper published in the prestigious journal Nature.

Alberta MLA May Face Law Society Complaint for Overheated Claim Against Climate Campaigns
An MLA in Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party government may soon face a complaint to the Law Society of Alberta, after drastically overstating the dollars from foreign donors that went into anti-tar sands/oil sands campaigns in the province, The Energy Mix has learned.

Trudeau’s #Elxn44 Announcement Meant End of Oil and Gas Expansion
August 29, 2021: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaign promise to cap oil and gas sector emissions at today’s levels and set five-year targets to reduce them beginning in 2025 amounted to the end of fossil fuel expansion in Canada, a leading climate advocate said.

Alberta’s ‘Friendly’ Oil was Most Carbon-Intensive in New International Index
October 5, 2021: A team of international analysts pointed to a Canadian tar sands/oil sands operation as the most carbon-intensive by far in an index of major oilfields around the world, even as Alberta’s Canadian Energy Centre launched a Times Square ad campaign touting the country’s “friendly” oil.

Fossils Create Less than 1% of Canadian Jobs, Making 20-Year Phaseout ‘Very Feasible’, Study Concluded
January 20, 2021: The Canadian economy has added 42 new jobs for each one it has lost in fossil fuels since 2014, and a 20-year industry phaseout would only reduce fossil employment by about 8,500 positions per year—as many as the country usually creates every 10 days—concluded economist Jim Stanford in an analysis published by Toronto-based Environmental Defence.

Two-Thirds of Canadian Oil and Gas Workers Want Net-Zero Jobs
July 14, 2021: More than two-thirds of Canadian fossil fuel workers are interested in jobs in a net-zero economy, 58% see themselves thriving in that economy, and nearly nine in 10 want training and upskilling for net-zero employment, according to a groundbreaking survey released by Edmonton-based Iron & Earth.

Indigenous Protests Blocked 1.6 Billion Tonnes of Emissions Per Year
September 2, 2021: Blockades, lobbying, media campaigns, and other forms of advocacy grounded in Indigenous rights have stopped or delayed nearly 1.6 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, or nearly 25% of the combined emissions of the United States and Canada, the Indigenous Environmental Network and Oil Change International concluded in a blockbuster report.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Wildly Optimistic’ to Expect Energy Regulator to Embrace Net-Zero, Veteran Energy Executive Warns
The Canada Energy Regulator is so closely tied to the fossil industry that it can’t be counted on to produce independent advice on the country’s path to net-zero—yet it’s considered the leading source of in-house energy modelling the Trudeau government has at its disposal, according to an independent expert commenting on the CER’s deeply flawed energy futures report released last week.

Fossil Emissions Cap, 75% Methane Cut Lead Guilbeault’s 39-Point Mandate Letter from Trudeau
A cap on oil and gas emissions, a 75% methane reduction this decade, a net-zero electricity grid by 2035, a mandated 50% target for electric vehicle sales by 2030, and a renewed commitment to international climate finance are among the elements of the mandate letter issued to Environment and Climate Minister Steven Guilbeault Thursday afternoon by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Flood Damage Produces Calls to Rethink Trans Mountain as Pipeline Slowly Reopens
As the federally-owned Trans Mountain Pipeline slowly returns to service after the longest outage in its 68-year history, a senior pipeline executive is pointing to the vulnerability of British Columbia’s energy supplies, while critics call for a faster shift off fossil fuels.

Take ‘Concrete, Rapid Steps’ to Decarbonize, Investors Urge Big Five Canadian Banks
Aligning climate targets with a 1.5°C future, aiming to at least halve absolute emissions by 2030, and issuing annual reports on the climate impacts of investments are among the best practices put forward for Canada’s five biggest banks in a report issued yesterday by Investors for Paris Compliance.

‘Big Foreign Oil’ Influence Drives Canadian Fossil Production, GHG Emissions, Report Warns
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) gets special billing as “Big Foreign Oil’s apex lobby group” in a new study that contrasts the trickle of international funding to climate campaigners with the overwhelming influence of foreign fossils in driving up Canada’s oil and gas production and greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy Regulator Projects Rising Oil Output through 2032, ‘Sets Canada Up for Climate Failure’
The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) is setting Canada up for climate failure with a report that projects increasing oil and gas production through 2032, relies overwhelmingly on unproven carbon capture technologies, and runs counter to decarbonization analysis and commitments from international agencies, the recent COP 26 climate summit, and the latest federal Speech from the Throne, according to climate policy and campaign groups responding to the report.

New York’s Right to Healthful Environment Sets Stage For Aggressive Climate Action
Nearly 70% of New York voters have backed an amendment to the state’s climate law to grant all residents the right “to clean air and water and a healthful environment,” potentially laying the groundwork for lawsuits against fossil fuel polluters and developers.

Indigenous Communities Face ‘International Human Crime’ as Ottawa Considers Tailings Pond Releases
Some Indigenous communities in northern Alberta say they’re being handed a choice between terrible options as the federal government develops regulations to allow treated tailings from tar sands/oil sands operations to be released into the environment. One advocate is calling the prospect of tailings releases into the Athabasca River an “international human crime”.

Coastal Gaslink Failed to Fix Multiple Environmental Violations, B.C. Officials Say
One year after ordering the owners of the Coastal GasLink pipeline to fix multiple environmental violations identified along its 670-kilometre construction route, and being more or less ignored, the British Columbia government of Premier John Horgan is trying again.

Coastal GasLink Conflict Exposes Deep Legal Issues on Indigenous Sovereignty, Analysts Warn
The RCMP’s mandate to enforce Canadian law is clashing with Wet’suwet’en First Nation sovereignty and opposition to the Coastal GasLink project’s development, raising deeper questions about how the two legal systems can coexist on the same landmass.

Leaked PR Video Reveals Latest Bid to Rebrand Tar Sands/Oil Sands
Desperate to get the public in its corner as it wrestles with its own imminent decline, Canada’s fossil industry has come up with a novel marketing message: tar sands/oil sands make beautiful (or, at least, non-ugly) things to play with.

Analysts Look for More as Alberta Sets New Rules for Abandoned Wells
Alberta’s oil and gas regulator has rolled out new rules aimed at addressing the growing problem of inactive and abandoned wells in the province, but critics say the industry should be forced to do even more to clean up after itself.

Extreme Weather Brings Continuing Pain to East and West as Ottawa Urged to ‘Build Back Better’
As the east coast reels from last week’s savage rainstorm, and British Columbia struggles desperately for traction with another atmospheric river coming ashore, observers are urging the Liberal government not to forfeit what remains of Canada’s inbuilt resilience, and to embrace the “build back better” agenda it promised in 2020.

Suzuki Apologizes, Stresses Urgency of Climate Action as Kenney Goes to Town on Pipeline Remark
Environmental icon David Suzuki issued an apology Thursday afternoon after his remarks to a journalist Saturday were misconstrued as a call for property damage—and handed Alberta’s United Conservative Party government an opportunity to amplify that interpretation.

LNG Canada On Track to Become ‘Financial Albatross’, Analysts Warn
British Columbia’s only confirmed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal may be on its way to becoming a “financial albatross”, according to a new analysis released Wednesday, even as a developer continues to tout a second LNG project in Howe Sound, just north of Vancouver.

U.S. Climate Newsletter Traces Human, Environmental Impact of Athabasca Tar Sands/Oil Sands
Profound damage to ecosystem and public health and wrenching cultural loss are the legacy of 54 years of tar sands/oil sands mining for the First Nations communities with primordial roots along the Athabasca River, concludes a special report by Inside Climate News.

Coastal GasLink Asks Wet’suwet’en Defenders to Prove Indigenous Status after RCMP Arrests
Two journalists have been released from custody, but the Coastal GasLink pipeline company is demanding that at least two land defenders “prove” their Indigenous status, following heavily militarized RCMP raids on a blockade aimed at stopping construction of a fracked gas pipeline through unceded Wet’suwet’en territory.

32 Arrested at Pipeline Blockade as B.C. Diverts 50 RCMP from Emergency Flood Response [Emergency Appeals]
Heavily-armed RCMP agents stormed an Indigenous blockade Friday and arrested 32 people, including Gidimt’en Clan spokesperson Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham) and two journalists, in another escalation of the dispute over construction of the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline through unceded Wet’suwet’en territory.

Wilkinson Pledges ‘Enforceable’, ‘Workable’ Cap on Oil and Gas Emissions
The Trudeau government will use a combination of investments and tax measures to establish an “enforceable”, “workable” cap on greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas operations, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in an interview with a CBC Radio podcast.

Devastation in B.C.: Massive Flooding Disrupts Supply Chains, Plunges Communities into Chaos
As rescue workers continue to search for the missing and communities struggle to cope with broken supply chains, damaged and endangered infrastructure, and lost homes and livelihoods in the wake of British Columbia’s catastrophic rainstorm, experts warn of many more such “disaster cascades” to come in an overheating world.

First Fires, Now Floods: B.C. Residents Reeling From Climate Extremes
One person dead, hundreds involved in harrowing highway rescues, thousands evacuated from their homes after a wastewater treatment facility flooded, and a shutdown for the Trans Mountain pipeline: these were some of the scenes unfolding after a monster storm dropped a month’s worth of rain on southern British Columbia this past weekend.

Natural Resources Canada is No Longer the ‘Ministry for Fossil Fuels’, Wilkinson Says
With Canada intent on helping to slow global warming without destroying its economy, the country’s newly-appointed natural resources minister says his department can no longer be thought of mainly as the ministry for fossil fuels.

Gidimt’en Clan Issues Eviction Order, Blocks Coastal GasLink Access to Territory
British Columbia’s public safety minister is condemning a blockade set up along a forestry road used construction of the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline, after the Gidimt’en clan announced over the weekend that they would enforce a nearly two-year-old eviction order and bar workers from their territory.

Enbridge Touts Line 5 Pipeline for Build Back Better Funding
As Line 5 pipeline owner Enbridge Inc. declares its proposed underwater tunnel project a perfect fit for the Biden administration’s Build Back Better agenda, environmentalists continue their fight to close the pipeline completely, citing threats to the Great Lakes watershed and to the global atmosphere.

Former IJC Co-Chair Scorches Trudeau for Fighting Michigan on Line 5 Shutdown
With the odds of a catastrophic spill growing by the day, both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden need to show some political courage and shutter an “aging and dangerous pipeline” that carries Canadian oil and fuels through Michigan, says the former U.S. Chair of the International Joint Commission (IJC).

Canada Falls to 61st Spot in Latest Climate Change Performance Index
Canada fell from 58th to 61st spot in the latest Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), released this week during the COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow, with its current climate performance and 2030 targets well below what would be consistent with a 2.0°C limit on average global warming.

Stranded Assets Risk ‘Regional Pockets of Misery’ without Smart Transition Off Fossil Fuels
Governments will have to coordinate efforts on the road to a net-zero economy to make sure the countries that move first and fastest don’t get most of the benefits, leaving lagging governments to cope with trillions of dollars’ worth of stranded fossil fuel assets, a new report warns.

Pipeliner Urges New Construction to Counter High Fossil Prices, Ignores Plummeting Cost of Renewables
A Canadian pipeline giant is citing soaring heating prices in Europe and an electricity crisis in China as proof that the global transition to a low-carbon economy needs to be driven by a “mix of balanced policy solutions,” despite analysis pinpointing the short-term price crunch as an argument for a faster shift to renewable energy.

Federal Expert Panel Moving Swiftly to Advise on Oil and Gas Emissions Cap
Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Board (NZAB) is planning to move swiftly with its advice to the federal government on declining greenhouse gas emission caps for oil and gas operations, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated his campaign pledge to introduce the caps during his address last week to the World Leaders’ Summit at COP 26, the United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

Cenovus CEO Urges Slower, ‘Achievable’ Path to Decarbonize Alberta Fossil Production
The chief executive of one of Canada’s major tar sands/oil sands producers says he’s not opposed to a federal cap on greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector, as long as the government accepts his contention that large-scale emissions reductions will take years to achieve.

BREAKING: Canada to Phase Out International Public Financing for Fossil Fuels
Canada will join a group of about 20 countries and institutions this morning to announce an end to public financing for oil, gas, and coal projects by the end of 2022, Le Devoir reported late Wednesday, putting an end to anxious speculation about whether the Trudeau government would sign on to what was seen as a pivotal pledge during this year’s United Nations climate summit, COP 26, in Glasgow.

Failing Grades Show Canadian Fossils’ Net-Zero Plans Can’t Be Trusted, Report Finds
Despite their loud promises to bring their greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050, eight of Canada’s biggest fossil producers cannot be trusted to manage their operations consistent with a 1.5°C limit on average global warming, says a report issued today by Oil Change International and Environmental Defence Canada alongside 15 other Canadian climate groups

#COP26TinyExplainers: Real Net-Zero Targets Need ‘Deep Thinking’, Fast Action, Abreu Says
Today’s question: Net-zero targets have been all the rage for government and industry, but we’ve been hearing over the last year that “net-zero is not zero”. Where are the gaps between the spin and the substance?

Trudeau’s COP 26 Speech Invokes Lytton Wildfire, Pledges Cap on Fossil Fuel Emissions
Canada will impose a cap on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and deliver a “major commitment” to encourage other natural resource-dependent countries to quickly drive down their own climate pollution, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told assembled world leaders when he took the stage Monday at this year’s United Nations climate change summit, COP 26, in Glasgow.

Careful What You Wish For: New Pipeline Drives Down Export Prices for Alberta Fossils
After years of blaming limited pipeline access for the low price they’ve had to charge for their product, Alberta fossil producers are running into another problem: U.S. refineries don’t particularly like the product.

Guilbeault to Environment, Wilkinson to Natural Resources as ‘PM in a Hurry’ Names New Cabinet
Veteran climate advocate Steven Guilbeault is Canada’s new Minister of Environment and Climate Change and former environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson is becoming Natural Resources Minister after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the new federal Cabinet Tuesday morning.

Alberta MLA May Face Law Society Complaint for Overheated Claim Against Climate Campaigns
October 24, 2021: An MLA in Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party government faced the risk of a complaint to the Law Society of Alberta, after drastically overstating the dollars from foreign donors that went into anti-tar sands/oil sands campaigns in the province, The Energy Mix learned in late October.

Fossils Push Back on Trudeau’s 2025 Emissions Reduction Promise
The fossil industry pushback has begun as the re-elected federal government begins looking at implementing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau campaign pledge to cap greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas at 2020 levels, then set five-year declining targets beginning in 2025.

Alberta’s Toxic Tailings Ponds Grew 90 Million Cubic Metres in 2020, Provincial Figures Show
Despite a slowdown in oil production and repeat promises to clean up after themselves, fossil operators in Alberta’s Athabasca tar sands/oil sands allowed toxic tailings ponds to grow 90 million cubic metres in 2020, according to an analysis of provincial data.

Wilkinson Promises Early Moves on Oil and Gas Emission Cap, ZEV Mandate
The federal government won’t wait for legislation to pass Parliament before making good on its campaign promises to cap greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas production and ensure that at least half of all cars sold in 2030 are zero-emission, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said last week.

Most Canadians Want Fossil Emission Cap, ‘Swift’ Action on Just Transition, Poll Shows
As Parliament gears up for a new legislative session, a new poll from Abacus Data shows Ottawa lagging behind what a majority of Canadians want when it comes to climate action and implementing a just transition for fossil fuel workers.

Regulator Rules Out Train as Cause of Lytton Wildfire Without Interviewing Locals
A decision by Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) to close its investigation into the devastating fire in Lytton, B.C., after concluding that there is no evidence to support concerns that train activity was the cause, has left residents feeling silenced and mistrustful.

$11 Million Per Minute in Fossil Subsidies ‘Add Fuel to the Fire’, IMF Study Shows
The coal, oil, and gas industries received US$5.9 trillion in worldwide subsidies in 2020—a mind-bending $11.2 million per minute, every minute of every hour of every day in the year—the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revealed in an analysis released this week.

Canadian Climate Plans Fall Far Short of 2030 Carbon Target, Federally-Funded Analysis Shows
Canada is on track to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by only 16% this decade, far short of the 40 to 45% target that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced earlier this year, partly thanks to strategies that favour greater efficiency in fossil fuel use over a transition to non-emitting energy, according to an analysis released this week by the Trottier Energy Institute.

Fossil Safety Record Under Fire as California Pipeline Cleanup Continues
Pipeline operator Beta Offshore faced tough questions about the hours it took to report a major spill, U.S. Coast Guard investigators boarded a massive container ship suspected of triggering the incident, and California lawmakers threatened an offshore drilling ban as the state continued its cleanup from a 475,000-litre crude oil spill off its southern coast.

Alberta’s ‘Friendly’ Oil is Most Carbon-Intensive in New International Index
A team of international analysts is pointing to a Canadian tar sands/oil sands operation as the most carbon-intensive by far in an index of major oilfields around the world, even as Alberta’s Canadian Energy Centre launches a Times Square ad campaign touting the country’s “friendly” oil.

‘Tofino-Scale Timing’ as Ottawa Invokes 1977 Treaty to Keep Line 5 Pipeline Open
Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau has invoked the dispute resolution mechanism in a 1977 treaty in a bid to keep the 68-year-old Line 5 pipeline operating through a critical chokepoint along the Great Lakes, prompting concern about the risk to a unique freshwater resource and the implications for Canada’s greenhouse gas reduction plan.

Ship’s Anchor Suspected in ‘Devastating’ California Pipeline Spill
Damage from a ship’s anchor is emerging as a possible cause of an offshore pipeline spill this week that dumped at least 126,000 gallons/475,000 litres of crude oil across an initial area of 13 square miles, threatening wildlife and potentially closing miles of Southern California beaches for weeks.

Canada’s ‘Fully Modelled’ Emissions Plan a Few Months Away, Wilkinson Says
Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says a detailed plan showing how Canada might finally meet a greenhouse gas emissions target will be ready in a few months, but not likely in time for this fall’s global climate change conference in Scotland.

Wet’suwet’en Call for More Support as Coastal GasLink Threatens Sacred River
Having been unable to protect a sacred village site from Coastal GasLink’s wrecking ball, the Wet’suwet’en are now fighting to protect a vital watershed as the pipeline company moves to drill beneath a pristine river in northwestern British Columbia.

Enbridge Celebrates, Indigenous Campaigners Vow to Fight, as Line 3 Pipeline Starts Up Today
Enbridge Inc.’s Line 3 pipeline replacement project is expected to enter into service on today, making it the first major Canadian pipeline project to be completed since 2015. The milestone has fossils declaring a significant victory, while Indigenous campaigners vow to disrupt construction work that is still under way.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘No Mention of Workers’ as Fossil Lobby Aims to Refocus Just Transition on Producers
With the deadline for comments on a federal just transition strategy coming up tomorrow, Canada’s fossil lobby is making best efforts to change the channel from what’s best for oil and gas workers and communities, to what it will take to sustain the country’s carbon-heavy fossil producers.

Quebec Pension Fund to Divest Oil by 2022, Set New Carbon Target, but Won’t Drop Gas Pipeline Investments
Canada’s second-largest pension fund manager has announced plans to sell off its oil investments by the end of next year, en route to a zero-emissions portfolio by 2050, while pouring C$10 billion into a green investment fund for large emitters.

Fossils Ask for ‘Policy Stability’, Workers Push for Transition Funds from New Minority Parliament
Fossils asked for “policy stability”, while oil worker advocacy group Iron & Earth pushed for retraining programs and a just transition package, as the dust began to settle on this week’s federal election.

Justice, Local Engagement Underlie Five Lessons for Managing the Just Transition
Countries that have successfully managed a just transition out of polluting, destructive industries had good industrial policy, made best use of community assets, cared about justice, and planned ahead, authors Tamara Krawchenko and Megan Gordon wrote last month for Policy Options.

LIBERAL MINORITY: 60% Vote for Climate Action as Trudeau Wins Third Term
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won a third term, more climate hawks took seats in the House of Commons, and nearly a dozen organizations demanded immediate action on the climate emergency as Canada’s $650-million pandemic election produced another minority parliament Monday night.

To Hit Net-Zero, Canada Energy Regulator Must Get Its Modelling Right
Climate change “is now undeniably personal” for most people in Canada, climate policy analysts Angela Carter, Kathryn Harrison, and Nicholas Rivers write for Policy Options. But before the country can map a net-zero future, the Canada Energy Regulator will have to get its low-carbon modelling right. The CER’s recent consultations show it still hasn’t got the memo.

Michigan’s Line 5 Pipeline Could Wreak US$41B in Climate Damage
Allowing Calgary-based pipeliner Enbridge Inc. to maintain its Line 5 pipeline by tunnelling beneath the Straits of Mackinac could generate US$41 billion in climate damages over the next 50 years, new expert testimony submitted to the Michigan Public Service Commission states.

Investors’ New Net Zero Standard Turns Up the Heat on Oil and Gas Companies
Fossil companies are under renewed pressure to meet a 10-part Net Zero Standard for Oil and Gas, including winding down production and sharply reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, under a new initiative introduced last week by investment firms overseeing more than US$10 trillion in assets.

Wilkinson Sees TMX Operating Until 2060, LeBlanc Muses About Liberal Majority, Obama Endorses Trudeau as #Elxn44 Nears Its end
A former Liberal environment minister said the Trans Mountain pipeline could operate through 2060, Canada’s climate performance to date was rated “highly insufficient”, Liberal candidate and strategist Dominic LeBlanc talked openly about a majority government, and former U.S. president Barack Obama sent best wishes to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau as campaigns began crisscrossing the country for the last few days of this year’s federal election.

BREAKING: Trans Mountain Loses 16th Insurer as Industry Giant Chubb Walks Away
The world’s biggest publicly-traded provider of property and casualty insurance, Chubb, has become the 16th insurer to declare that it won’t back the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline, a coalition of climate and Indigenous campaigners announced yesterday.

CleanBC Climate Plan Falls Short, Indigenous and Environmental Leaders Tell Horgan
Barely three years after environmental and Indigenous leaders in British Columbia endorsed the province’s CleanBC climate plan, those same leaders have withdrawn their support and are demanding a plan that matches the scale of the climate crisis.

Canada Must Leave 83% of Fossil Fuels in the Ground in Latest 1.5°C Scenario
Canada must leave 83% of its fossil fuel reserves and 84% of its tar sands/oil sands in the ground if the world is to have even a 50% chance of holding average global warming to 1.5°C, according to a paper published this week in the prestigious journal Nature.

#Elxn44: ‘All Platforms are Not Equal’ as Party Leaders Debate Climate
Climate held its position as a top-tier issue in last night’s English-language debate, parties tussled over their campaign pledges, and Calgarians declared climate action their top concern in upcoming federal and municipal votes as Canada’s national election campaign entered its last 10 days.

#Elxn44: Methane Reduction Pledges Can’t Depend on Fossil Industry Data, Howarth Warns
With scientists flagging methane reductions as the quickest first step to get climate crisis under control, governments in Canada and elsewhere have to stop relying on fossil fuel companies to reliably report emissions of the colourless, odourless gas from their operations, pioneering methane researcher Robert Howarth told The Energy Mix in an interview this week.

Hurricane Ida Produces Oil, Petrochemical Spills on Land, at Sea
The fierce, 150-mile-per-hour winds unleashed by Hurricane Ida last week left behind oil and petrochemical spills on land and at sea, with aerial photography and satellite images capturing some of the impacts in the aftermath of the storm.

#Elxn44 Roundup: Climate Policies Face Scrutiny, Paul Endorses Liberal Platform, and Carbon Border Adjustment Emerges
A border carbon adjustment made an appearance as a campaign issue, parties’ climate platforms came in for renewed scrutiny, and the Liberals’ plan received an accidental endorsement from the Green Party leader and a deliberate one from her former B.C. counterpart as Canada’s federal election entered its second-last week.

Indigenous Protests Blocked 1.6 Billion Tonnes of Emissions Per Year, Study Finds
Blockades, lobbying, media campaigns, and other forms of advocacy grounded in Indigenous rights have stopped or delayed nearly 1.6 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, or nearly 25% of the combined emissions of the United States and Canada, the Indigenous Environmental Network and Oil Change International conclude in a blockbuster report issued Wednesday.

#Elxn44: Transition Discussion Drills Down to Fossil Exec’s Dinner Table
Our continuing coverage of Canada’s federal election September 20 carries the #Elxn44 tag. You can use the search engine on our site to find other stories in the series. Just days before Liberal leader Justin Trudeau made a campaign promise to institute a C$2-billion just transition fund for oil and gas workers, one of Canada’s top […]

#Elxn44: Analyst Predicts ‘Diplomatic Disaster’ if O’Toole Scaled Back Canada’s Paris Commitment
Canada would face “diplomatic disaster” and isolation globally if Conservative leader Erin O’Toole carried through on his promise to scale back Canada’s carbon reduction commitments under the Paris agreement, a top climate policy analyst warned, as the federal election entered its third week.

CO2 Pipeline Rupture in Mississippi Points to Health Risks in Carbon Capture Expansion
A dangerous carbon dioxide pipeline rupture in Satartia, Mississippi, last year is a foreshadow of the risks people face in the U.S. and elsewhere if the fossil industry and governments push through with plans to expand carbon capture and sequestration infrastructure.

#Elxn44 BREAKING: Trudeau Campaign Announcement Means End of Oil and Gas Expansion
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s promise yesterday to cap oil and gas sector emissions at today’s levels and set five-year targets to reduce them beginning in 2025 amounts to the end of fossil fuel expansion in Canada, the country’s leading climate advocacy network told The Energy Mix Sunday evening.

#Elxn44 Roundup: O’Toole Pledges to Break the Paris Agreement, Fossils Release Election Demands, and Climate Holds Top Spot with Voters
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole pledged to move boldly backwards on Canada’s emissions reduction target, the fossil lobby published its campaign wish list, and the climate crisis held its spot as a top concern for Canadian voters as the federal election moved into its third week.

Insurers Could Boost Shareholder Value by Refusing Oil and Gas Projects, Bank Analysis Shows
The 10 companies that insure the lion’s share of oil and gas exploration and production could drop those high-carbon industries and increase their own shareholder value but are choosing not to, Bloomberg Green reports, in a summary of an analysis conducted by French investment banking giant Société Générale (SocGen).

Pipeline Leaks, Construction Problems Validated Biden’s Keystone Cancellation, Lawmakers Say
Serious and “preventable” construction problems on the 3,000-mile Keystone Pipeline System in the United States validated President Joe Biden’s decision to cancel the controversial Keystone XL project on his first day in office, a group of senior Congressional leaders said Monday, citing a new report from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Wall Street Bank Touts Alberta Oil Investment as Analyst Warns Against Climate Risks
An influential Wall Street investment bank is encouraging its customers to pour their dollars into Canadian tar sands/oil sands operators, largely on the strength of two new pipelines that are inching closer to completion.

How Much Climate Transition Would $50 Billion Buy? Energy Mix Readers Respond to Fossil’s Subsidy Demand
After Cenovus Energy CEO Alex Pourbaix made his pitch for C$52.5 billion in taxpayer subsidies to decarbonize production in the Alberta tar sands/oil sands, we asked Energy Mix readers how else they would spend that money to drive faster, deeper carbon cuts. The community delivered.

Fossil CEO Wants $50B from Taxpayers to Decarbonize Tar Sands/Oil Sands
Less than a day before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest, most dire assessment of the global climate emergency, Cenovus Energy CEO Alex Pourbaix let it be known—apparently without a hint of irony—that he expects Canadian taxpayers to shell out up to C$52.5 billion to help his industry get the carbon out of its operations.

Wilkinson, Kenney Defend Fossil Industry in Wake of Devastating IPCC Science Report
With a federal election likely just days away from being called, sitting governments of all political stripes weighed in with a business-as-usual response to the urgent call to action in this week’s climate science assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Canada Has ‘Responsibility, Power to Make a Difference’ on IPCC Findings
In the hours after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its new science assessment, Canadian climate organizations linked the report’s stark findings to Canada’s stubborn refusal to scale back fossil fuel emissions and subsidies, and the urgent need to close the gap between science and action.

TC Energy Plans 1,000-MW Storage Project to Cut Ontario Gas Demand
Calgary-based pipeliner TC Energy is planning to build Canada’s biggest energy storage project to date, a 1,000-megawatt pumped storage installation on the grounds of the 4th Canadian Division Training Centre in Meaford, Ontario, about 200 kilometres north of Toronto on Georgian Bay.

Whatcom County Becomes First U.S. Refinery Community to Ban New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure
A county on the northwest coast of Washington State has made a landmark decision to ban new fossil fuel development, reversing a trajectory that had it on course to become a gateway for oil, gas, and coal exports to Asia.

EXCLUSIVE: Experts Press Trudeau to Link Regulator’s Energy Planning to 1.5°C Targets
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under pressure to bring the Canada Energy Regulator (CER)’s energy futures modelling in line with the Paris climate agreement, The Energy Mix has learned, just as an international agency warns that the world’s 1.5°C climate stabilization target is slipping out of reach.

Nisga’a Nation in B.C. Proposes $10-Billion LNG Project
The Nisga’a Nation in British Columbia is teaming up with seven natural gas producers to propose a C$10-billion liquefied natural gas development, claiming the project will bring its emissions to net-zero within three years of starting operations in 2027 or 2028.

BREAKING: Two-Thirds of Canadian Oil and Gas Workers Want Net-Zero Jobs
More than two-thirds of Canadian fossil fuel workers are interested in jobs in a net-zero economy, 58% see themselves thriving in that economy, and nearly nine in 10 want training and upskilling for net-zero employment, according to a groundbreaking survey released this morning by Edmonton-based Iron & Earth.

Study Shows $23 Billion in Taxpayer Support to Three Fossil Pipelines
Federal and provincial governments have lavished C$23 billion on fossil fuel pipelines, mostly in the form of loan guarantees and other fiscal measures that are heavily distorting Canada’s financial marketplace, according to new research released this week by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

Alberta’s Failed ‘Foreign Influence’ Probe an Affront to Democracy: Stewart
The Jason Kenney government’s inquiry into supposed foreign-funded interference with the province’s fossil industry has failed to make its case, but is still an affront to democracy, Greenpeace Canada senior energy strategist Keith Stewart argues this week in an opinion piece for the Edmonton Journal.

U.S. Justice Department Backs Line 3 Pipeline while Army Corps Orders Full Review for Line 5
One U.S. oil pipeline gained support from the Biden administration, a second acquired a new regulatory hurdle, and a third might soon find itself back in court, as federal data showed 19 pipeline projects pushing toward completion this year.

Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking Accompany Enbridge’s Line 3 Pipeline Project
Two contract workers involved with Enbridge’s US$2.9-billion Line 3 replacement project in northwestern Minnesota have been charged with human trafficking, and reports of sexual violence and harassment associated with the project have been flooding in to local crisis centres.

Haphazard Regulation Allows Lax Safety Culture, Drives Insurers Away from Trans Mountain, Critic Says
Haphazard oversight by the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) may have enabled a lax safety culture at Crown-owned Trans Mountain Corporation that is now making insurers nervous about backing the company’s existing 68-year-old pipeline and its efforts to complete a C$12.6-billion expansion project, a retired insurance executive says.

Giant UK Investment Manager Drops AIG Over Fossil Fuel Insurance, Climate Risk
The United Kingdom’s biggest asset manager, Legal & General Investment Management, is dropping its shares in U.S. insurance giant American International Group (AIG) and three other companies, after concluding they aren’t moving far enough, fast enough to address the climate risks in their activities.

Fossils’ ‘Net-Zero’ Alliance Has No Phaseout Plan, Relies on Shaky Carbon Capture Technology
Canada’s five big tar sands/oil sands companies are raising eyebrows with their plan to form an Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero alliance aimed at cutting their greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 without reducing their actual oil production.

‘Never, Ever Give Up’, McKibben Says, as TC Energy Cancels Keystone XL
It took nearly five months, after U.S. President Joe Biden dealt a death blow to the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office. But Calgary-based pipeliner TC Energy finally, formally cancelled the project this week, acknowledging that a decade-long fight has come to an end.

Helicopter ‘Sand-Blasts’ Line 3 Opponents, 200 Arrested at Peaceful Protest
A peaceful protest against the expansion of Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline in northern Minnesota on Monday was met with the same helicopter-as-weapon tactic that authorities deployed against citizens protesting George Floyd’s murder last summer.

Michigan Scorches ‘Meritless’ Claims it Can’t Shut Down Line 5
The dispute over the cross-border Line 5 pipeline is entirely for Michigan to deal with, the state’s attorney general argues in a legal brief released Wednesday that flatly rejects Canada’s depiction of a foreign policy matter that Ottawa and the White House must resolve.