Statement by Stephen Legault, Senior Manager, Alberta Energy Transition

Canmore | Traditional territories of the Treaty 7 Nations – Environmental Defence welcomes the election of former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi as leader of the Alberta NDP and as Official Opposition Leader in the Alberta legislature. We congratulate all participants in the leadership contest and acknowledge their important service to Albertans.

Albertans want and need leadership to address the climate crisis, energy affordability, and the fair and unbiased development of the renewable energy industry. All political parties can and should adopt strong policies to reduce our province’s greenhouse gas emissions, while building a robust green energy sector that supports Albertans and their communities.

65 per cent of Albertans support reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and 70 per cent believe that the Alberta economy is too dependent on fossil fuels. (Brown, 2023) We hope Leader Nenshi will quickly and comprehensively outline how a future Alberta NDP government will address climate change and its economic, environmental and social impacts.

Environmental Defence looks forward to working with Naheed Nenshi, his caucus and all members of the Alberta legislature assembly to strengthen our economy and address the climate crisis.

ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

Allen Braude, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca