Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Russia is still exporting natural gas in the form of liquefied natural gas to Europe. Europe is buying billions of dollars of this LNG from Russia. The data I looked up recently showed that in the first seven months of this year, Russian LNG exports to Europe jumped 40%. The other thing that's happening is that Europe, because it can't get enough natural gas, is switching to burning coal for electricity generation. We know from the Government of Canada's own data that one-fifth of all global emissions come from coal-fired electricity plants. A kilowatt hour of electricity generated from coal has double the emissions of a kilowatt hour of electricity generated from gas.
On October 9, 2023, Gregory Ebel, the president of Enbridge Inc., wrote that Canadian natural gas exports could “displace coal” in Europe and Asia and “have a tremendous impact on reducing global emissions—one far greater than Canada merely achieving its own 2050 net-zero commitment.” He further called on the Canadian government “to adopt policies and regulatory measures to enable the responsible and efficient development and export of this important resource while also streamlining permitting processes to better respond to the urgent need for more gas.”
My question for you, Mr. Irving, is this: Do you agree with Mr. Ebel's assertion that increased exports of Canadian natural gas could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, and if so, why?