Statement by Stephen Legault, Senior Manager, Alberta Energy Transition
Canmore | Traditional territories of the Treaty 7 Nations – April 18th marks the third anniversary of the release of Alberta’s Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan, and the results reveal a troubling gap between the province’s climate commitments and the government’s actions.
While Alberta has achieved a nine per cent reduction in overall emissions over the past decade, this progress came primarily from low-hanging fruit: methane emission reductions and the phase-out of thermal coal-fired electricity. These were the easy wins. The hard work of transforming Alberta’s energy economy remains ahead.
The Alberta government is moving backwards on emissions reductions by failing to even meet its own lax targets, blocking many of the federal government’s strategies and advocating to expand the amount of emissions Alberta produces through pipeline development.
Alberta is responsible for 38 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. Defenders of the status quo argue this is simply the price of a thriving economy, but that narrative is increasingly out of step with global economic reality. The world’s most robust and resilient economies are charging ahead with renewable energy development and ambitious emissions reductions, proving that climate action and economic prosperity go hand in hand.
The Alberta government’s myopic focus on pipeline expansion ignores fundamental shifts in global energy markets. Fifty per cent of the world’s electricity capacity is now renewable. The International Energy Agency, World Economic Forum, and other leading institutions project that global oil consumption will begin declining within years, slowly at first before reaching a tipping point.
Alberta is being left behind by more advanced economies embracing the energy transition. Building pipelines that the world won’t need is not an economic development strategy; it’s economic denial.
Background
A review of the Alberta government’s commitments in the energy reduction plan shows that the province is taking a talk-and-delay approach.
- Net Zero by 2050 – The overarching aspiration to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 has no concrete interim targets or binding regulations in place.
- Oil Sands Emissions Cap Reduction – While a 100 Mt cap exists, there are no regulations to actually reduce oil sands emissions below current levels (~70 Mt), despite the Pathways Alliance announcing net-zero plans.
- 75-80 per cent Methane Reduction by 2030 – While a 45 per cent reduction by 2025 is on track, the government only commits to “engage stakeholders to assess potential pathways” for the increased 75-80 per cent target, with no regulations yet developed.
- Renewable Fuels Standard Review – Plans to increase blending requirements for ethanol and biodiesel and expand to sustainable aviation fuel, but this is only at the “stakeholder engagement” stage.
- Low-Carbon Gaseous Fuel Blend Rate – Exploring the establishment of a minimum blend rate for renewable natural gas and/or hydrogen in utility natural gas, but no commitments or timelines have been established.
- Clean Electricity Regulation Opposition – Alberta opposes the federal net-zero electricity grid by 2035 and has not committed to any alternative timeline for phasing out natural gas generation.
- CCUS Hub Development – While 25 hubs were approved in 2022 for evaluation, actual construction and operation remain in early stages with no firm completion dates.
- Nature-Based Solutions Policy Framework – Committed to developing this framework, but it does not yet exist, with only promises to “assess opportunities” and “explore tools.”
- Electricity Demand-Side Management – Only “reviewing” and “exploring” demand-side management approaches with no programs established.
- Sustainable Finance Advisory Group – “Considering” creating this group, but not yet been established.
- Higher Building Energy Efficiency Tiers – Only committed to “explore” if and when to adopt higher tiers beyond the current Tier 1 standard.
- Agricultural Emissions Protocol Expansion – Only “assessing opportunities” to expand protocols like NERP, with no new protocols developed.
- Indigenous Knowledge Keepers Committee – Committed to establishing this committee, but not yet created.
- Irrigation Infrastructure Expansion – $280 million committed, but actual expansion to 93,000 additional hectares not yet completed.
- Conservation Strategy – Developing a strategy for protected areas priorities, including working landscapes, but a strategy does not yet exist.
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Alex Ross, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
