Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and committee members.
Thank you for your invitation to speak to the committee.
I want to begin by condemning the ongoing brutality that we are seeing from the Russian regime in Ukraine. The images we saw over the weekend were clearly awful and unspeakable, and Canada stands in steadfast support of the people of Ukraine and of our European allies.
Since this illegal invasion, issues relating to energy security have come to the fore. Amid spiking energy prices, we have seen an urgent desire on the part of European countries to replace Russian oil and gas in the short term while they concurrently work to shift as rapidly as possible to renewables and to clean hydrogen in order to end their reliance on Russian oil and gas altogether.
This is happening at a time when the IPCC is telling the world that with respect to climate change we are at a crossroads. The decisions we make now can secure a livable future.
Canada must be capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time. We can help our European partners in the short term while continuing to take bold action to meet our ambitious climate goals. That is what our government is doing: supporting global energy markets while taking aggressive and ambitious action to lower emissions.
I want to echo Minister Guilbeault. Reducing carbon pollution isn't just necessary to save our planet; it will also create good jobs and opportunities in every region of this country. Companies like Suncor are planning to invest significantly in hydrogen; companies like Amazon are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in renewable energy in Alberta; and 13 of the world's top 100 clean-tech companies are Canadian.
However, even beyond a significant move towards renewables and hydrogen in a net-zero transition, there will be a continuing and important role for hydrocarbon fuels in non-combustion related applications, including hydrogen. Prior to the Russian invasion, oil demand was projected to be relatively constant through 2030 before we start to see declines associated with the broad deployment of zero-emission vehicle technology. Those fuels that are produced in an ultra-low-carbon fashion will have significant and increasing value in a world that is transitioning to lower carbon, which brings us to today's topic: the design and implementation of a cap on emissions from Canada's oil and gas sector.
By capping emissions from oil and gas, we are ensuring that Canada will meet its climate targets while helping Canada's oil and gas sector compete in a world in which ultra-low-carbon products have financial value. Canada's oil and gas industry is already very much alive to the value that these products will hold, and that is why they themselves committed to net zero in 2050 via the Oil Sands Pathways alliance, with whom I spoke just this week, and indeed, with whom I speak regularly.
In proposing a descending cap on emissions from Canada's oil and gas sector, our government is taking them up on their offer. We are designing a regulatory framework to help industry and government achieve our shared objectives. To get us there, we have been engaging with Canadians. We're consulting with industry, indigenous communities, academics, non-governmental organizations, groups like the Net-Zero Advisory Body, the clean-tech industry and, of course, the oil and gas sector. We are also working actively with provincial governments.
Officials both in my department and those in Minister Guilbeault's are considering all of these contributions. Any Canadian who wants to offer written submissions can do so, and we certainly look forward to hearing from this committee in that regard. We plan to conclude the engagement's formal process by this fall, and we'll be poised to move forward by late 2022 or early 2023.
It is only by working together—by collaborating with partners across the country—that we will be able to both reduce emissions and generate economic growth. This is good for our country's future: It's how we leave a healthier economy and a healthy environment for our children.
I look forward to reviewing the final report of this committee and your recommendations, as it will play an important part in the development of this emissions reduction initiative.
With that, I would be happy—and I'm sure Minister Guilbeault would be happy—to answer any questions.