Smith, Moe livid over Ottawa’s emissions cap
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
179.87033
Summary
Learn English with the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau. In this speech, Justin talks about the need to address climate change, and the importance of the oil and gas sector in addressing climate change. He also highlights the benefits of investing in clean technology and clean technology-based infrastructure.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
And you're also going to hear people say that this is an attack on the oil and gas sector,
00:00:04.220
and by extension on Alberta. Nothing could be further from the truth. And I can share that with
00:00:09.900
the fact that our government has been working hard for years, hand in hand with industry leaders
00:00:14.940
in our province, with partners, Indigenous peoples, to ensure that we can both grow our economy
00:00:20.440
and protect the environment. Why do we need to do that? Well, we have to stay competitive
00:00:25.740
in a global energy market that more and more demands low emissions. And I know, as Jonathan
00:00:32.280
and Stephen alluded to, that we've lived through dramatic increases in severe weather events over
00:00:36.840
the last several years. I couldn't go out Monday of the long weekend of May or September in Edmonton
00:00:42.180
because the air quality index was 11.5. 11 plus, actually. And so for people who are now having
00:00:48.600
to stay in their homes during forest fire season when they are raging because they simply can't
00:00:52.600
breathe the air, that is a cue to all of us that we have to do better. And that includes the oil
00:00:56.360
and gas sector. So heat domes, atmospheric rivers, forest fires, smoke-filled days, and devastating
00:01:02.060
floods. And even in the middle of COVID, folks, the number one thing that people in Edmonton Centre
00:01:08.460
asked me to work on was fighting climate change in the middle of COVID. And when I'm on the doors
00:01:14.300
still now, that's what they're asking us to do. It's still the number one issue. A majority of
00:01:18.500
Albertans want us to do this, and certainly a majority of people in Edmonton Centre want
00:01:22.640
us to do this. And so for the safety of our communities and our families, we need to address
00:01:26.100
the threat of climate change. Now, at the same time, many of us have a family member, a friend,
00:01:31.960
or a neighbour who works in oil and gas. And these jobs are important, and we are going
00:01:35.740
to protect workers. Our climate goals are completely aligned with growing our industry and building
00:01:40.340
an economy that works for everyone. How do we do this? Well, our government over the past
00:01:44.820
few years has unlocked billions of dollars in investment in the economy of today and
00:01:49.180
tomorrow through incentives for carbon capture, utilization and storage, and other emerging
00:01:53.820
technologies. Jonathan mentioned the Dow Chemical investment, $11 billion, 7,000 construction jobs,
00:02:01.920
500 permanent jobs after that in the Fort Saskatchewan area of Edmonton. But we can add to that.
00:02:07.280
We've got Air Products building the largest net-zero hydrogen plant in northeast Edmonton. We've
00:02:12.040
got Heidelberg materials that's going to produce the first net-zero cement plant in the world
00:02:16.500
by burying their carbon in a CCUS, by putting their carbon in a CCUS stack. We are third in
00:02:23.280
the world in foreign direct investment right now. What does that mean? Thousands and thousands
00:02:28.540
of good-paying jobs for workers from coast to coast to coast. These are good-paying, long-term,
00:02:34.160
middle-class jobs. And that attraction of billions of dollars of investment is exactly why, how we know
00:02:43.240
that the plan is working. Make no mistake, we can do big things in this country, and Alberta, Alberta
00:02:52.840
workers, and the ingenuity that I see in my province and across the country can continue to lead the way
00:03:00.120
This past summer, we experienced the most destructive forest fire season in Canadian history, by far.
00:03:05.780
It forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. It destroyed homes and livelihoods,
00:03:10.120
and blanketed our cities and our towns in clouds of smoke, certainly including here in Ottawa.
00:03:16.040
The policy we are announcing today is one of an array of policies that Canada has been putting into
00:03:20.520
place to do what we can to slow and eventually stop the planet from burning up.
00:03:25.400
While climate change is indeed an existential threat to the future of the human race, it is also rapidly
00:03:32.680
transforming the global economy and global finance in ways that are creating enormous economic
00:03:37.780
opportunity for those who approach the transition to a low-carbon future in a thoughtful, determined,
00:03:44.040
and focused manner. In releasing the World Energy Outlook 2023, Dr. Beral, the Executive Director of
00:03:50.940
the World of the International Energy Agency, stated, and I quote,
00:03:53.800
The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide, and it's unstoppable. It is not just a question of if,
00:04:03.820
The global energy transformation is both an environmental imperative to protect the planet for future
00:04:09.100
generations and an economic opportunity on a scale similar to the Industrial Revolution.
00:04:15.260
Aggressively reducing production-related emissions early and boldly can provide a significant competitive
00:04:20.780
advantage for the sector and its workers. In recent years, Canada's oil and gas sector has made
00:04:26.540
progress with respect to reducing emission intensity of production. Many leading firms in the sector have
00:04:32.060
committed themselves to net zero by 2050, as have the provinces of Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador,
00:04:37.820
and British Columbia. However, ensuring long-term competitiveness of Canada's sector requires that
00:04:43.820
it achieve significant and sustained reductions in absolute emissions on a pathway to net zero production
00:04:50.300
by 2050. The Government of Canada has introduced incentives, regulations, and investments to encourage
00:04:55.900
and support the oil and gas sector in this pursuit. This includes carbon pricing, investments in the Strategic
00:05:01.340
Innovation Fund and the Clean Fuels Fund, and investment tax credits for carbon capture and sequestration,
00:05:06.380
and for the production of low-carbon hydrogen. Today, we are releasing the framework for Canada's
00:05:11.740
emissions cap for the oil and gas sector. This cap is a key part of decarbonizing the sector on a path to
00:05:17.340
net zero by 2050. It is critical to sustaining the competitiveness of Canada's industry over the coming decades.