Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee.
The issue of an emissions cap on the oil and gas sector is a very important one for our country. Our association represents Canadian energy service companies operating close to the wellhead. Our member companies employ tens of thousands of energy workers in the oil and gas industry and in emerging sectors such as hydrogen, helium, geothermal, LNG, lithium and carbon capture utilization and storage.
Canada's energy contractors recognize that governments and industry leaders from across the country and around the world have issued a challenge to make energy development cleaner and even more sustainable to meet ambitious climate targets. It is our belief that, through partnership and collaboration with the Canadian oil and gas industry, meeting Canada's climate goals are achievable. Industry supports the Government of Canada's goal to significantly reduce the GHG emissions profile of our sector, but we strongly assert that the drive for net zero must not effectively become a cap on oil and natural gas production in Canada.
Canada's energy industry is a willing partner in helping Canada reduce GHGs and ultimately achieve net-zero emissions in our sector. We believe this energy transition is a technical challenge but also a great economic opportunity. The production of cleaner oil and gas, the development of alternative energy sources such as hydrogen and geothermal and the support for CCUS form a viable pathway to net zero, and it is one that supports Canadian energy workers, resource communities and our entire economy through the energy transition.
As we as a country discuss how to lower emissions in our oil and gas sector, we must have this conversation realistically and practically, and acknowledge some fundamental facts. The International Energy Agency continues to project a growing demand for oil and natural gas in the coming decades. In fact, during the IEA's recent launch of it's Canada 2022 report, the executive director emphasized that Canada is a cornerstone of global energy markets and should continue to be so. He stated, “We will still need oil and gas for years to come.... I prefer that oil is produced by countries...like Canada who want to reduce the emissions of oil and gas.”
With a record of over $3.5 billion invested since 2018 in technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Canada's energy industry continues to be the largest investor in low carbon innovations, clean technologies and environmental protection in the country. That's fact number one. That demand for oil and gas will continue through the energy transition, and Canada's oil and gas industry is the largest investor in emission reducing technology.
Fact number two is that access to reliable, affordable and secure sources of energy is essential to Canadian families in our economy. Without prudent and realistic planning, regulatory actions to reach net zero by 2050 may produce unintended consequences that could ultimately undermine Canada's climate commitments. The ongoing and escalating energy crisis in Europe demonstrates the need for energy affordability, reliability and security as we tackle emission reductions.
Fact number three is that the production of Canadian oil and gas employs hundreds of thousands of Canadians and is worth trillions of dollars to our economy in the coming decades. Within the context of continued global demand for oil and gas resources, Canada's net-zero commitment should not result in unnecessary job loss, drastic increases to energy bills or displaced economic activity to jurisdictions that do not share our commitment to climate action, environmental sustainability or human rights. The fundamental point is that Canadian economic prosperity and energy security must be the foremost considerations as we move forward.
In closing, Mr. Chair, we recommend that the Government of Canada leverage the innovation and expertise of Canada's oil and gas industry as it moves forward with this discussion, that it support energy resource workers and that it recognize that Canada's energy sector can play a major role in producing needed, net-zero energy for global markets. We believe the entire upstream oil and gas industry can develop a unique competitive advantage moving forward, but to do that, we need the Government of Canada to support Canadian energy.
Thank you.