The absence of a ‘phase-out’ let petrostates off the hook, but there are other ways to end the era of coal, oil and gas
Petrostates fought fiercely against the call from 130 nations at Cop28 for a fossil fuel phase-out. That is because they are engaged in a colossal fossil fuel phase-up, already working on double the extraction that the planet can cope with.
The Nisga’a Nation-backed Ksi Lisims LNG project appears to have sparked considerable pushback during a public comment period as part of the BC Environment Assessment Office’s review.
Whereas the Haisla Nations’ much smaller Cedar LNG project sailed through the environmental review process with just 16 written submissions, the Nisga’a Nation’s much larger project liquefied natural gas project – Ksi Lisims – generated more than 500 written comments, many of them anonymous, the bulk of them negative.
Countries around the world, including Canada, are officially under pressure to further ratchet up their commitments under the Paris Agreement, the UN’s climate change executive secretary Simon Stiell told delegates at the annual climate negotiations in Dubai.
The latest grim findings from climate scientists estimate that based on current trajectories, the planet has roughly six years before blowing past the Paris Agreement’s goal to hold global warming to 1.5 C, Stiell said during the COP28 opening ceremony.
Earlier this month, the CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) stood before the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and pledged our national retirement fund’s continued support for the Alberta oil and gas industry.
“This (IEA) report is a stunning rebuke to all the Canadian oil executives and politicians claiming that they can simply slap on some government-funded carbon capture and continue with business as usual in a world rapidly weaning itself off of oil and gas," said Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist for Greenpeace Canada, in an email Thursday.
