Thank you.
Mr. Chair, members of the House, thank you for having me.
I'm joining you today from unceded Kanien’kehá:ka territory. I represent Climate Action Network Canada, which brings together close to 150 labour, development, faith-based, indigenous and environmental groups working to fight climate change.
Capping oil and gas emissions is not only necessary for Canada to fulfill its international climate commitments, it is an opportunity to steer our economy towards a more competitive direction in a global context that is fast evolving.
The transition away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy is happening. The question is, will we plan for it now and increase our economy and our society’s resilience, or will we wait to be left behind?
The caps are an opportunity to position Canada as a proactive, people-centred leader of this global transformation. However, for this, some key principles will have to be respected, which I will focus my remarks on today.
First, the decarbonization pathway for the oil and gas sector should align with the Paris Agreement objective to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. As a wealthy and high-emitting country, Canada has the capacity and the responsibility to lead globally in phasing out fossil fuel emissions and undertaking a just transition. The cap must reflect the rapidly shrinking global carbon budget and Canada’s fair share of this global effort.
The cap should also equitably share the decarbonization burden across Canadian economic sectors. The oil and gas sector accounts for the largest share of the country’s emissions, which have grown by 87% between 1990 and 2019. During the same period, emissions from electricity generation, for instance, have decreased by 36%, so the cap must avoid unfairly shifting the burden of mitigation from oil and gas to other sectors, other workers and other consumers.
Second, the emissions covered should reduce absolute emissions. Carbon-intensity targets are an inadequate measure, as they aim to only cut carbon pollution relative to output and do not result in overall reductions in emissions, since production can expand while carbon intensity decreases; and this has been the story in Canada.
On the compliance side, we must focus on getting to zero, rather than on the “net” in “net-zero.” This means we cannot rely on offsets or hypothetical emissions reductions from carbon capture, utilization and storage projects that have yet to be commissioned and have failed to demonstrate actual emissions reductions.
The cap should factor in the full life cycle of greenhouse gases, including scope 3 emissions. In 2019, emissions from Canada’s exported fossil fuels were 954 megatonnes, while domestic emissions were at 730 megatonnes of carbon dioxide. If we are serious about cutting emissions, we need to take responsibility for the gargantuan carbon footprint of the fossil fuels we ship overseas.
Third, it is absolutely essential that this comes with strong and sufficient “just transition” mechanisms that ensure no workers and communities are left behind. The just transition act that has been promised by the government must set up an advisory working group in charge of establishing the process, mechanisms, tools and funding for a just transition. Unions must be consulted from the beginning of planning and be part of this group, and the funding that comes with the act must also be scaled up.
Fourth, the cap must have robust compliance mechanisms that are properly enforced. It should avoid any relief valves for industry that could reduce the policy's stringency. There should be strong deterrence mechanisms that do not allow companies to internalize these as a cost of doing business.
Fifth, the cap should foster additional emissions reductions. There are already existing and planned Canadian regulations that aim to limit and reduce the emissions of the oil and gas sector: carbon pricing, through the output-based pricing system, as well as methane regulations and the clean fuel standard. The caps should be a new, additional policy that requires additional emissions reductions.
Finally, and importantly, the policy must uphold indigenous rights and authority affirmed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in its design and implementation.
Thank you very much, committee members.
I would be happy to talk with you during the question period.