Natural gas must be part of the solution if governments are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly and effectively without causing catastrophic power outages.
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Life quickly approaches you when it comes to global energy issues.
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Canada is rapidly falling short of its goals of providing billions of dollars of economic growth to the economy each year, enhancing global energy security, and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions related to climate change. progressing.
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Both the European Union and the G-7, of which Canada is a member, have embraced the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fill shortfalls caused by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s suspension of exports to Europe. there is It also reduces global emissions by replacing coal-fired power generation with natural gas.
Natural gas burns with half the carbon intensity of coal, and the use of coal to generate electricity is the world’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
The good news is that Canada is the world’s fifth largest natural gas producer and sixth largest natural gas exporter.
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The bad news is that almost everything goes to the US. Because there is no way to get it from western Canada to the intertidal zone and from there to global markets in Europe and Asia.
That means they have to sell at deep discounts, forcing the Canadian economy to grow billions of dollars each year.
On the other hand, we are led by the Prime Minister, and the global shortage of natural gas means that Canada needs to switch even faster to so-called “clean” energy, such as unreliable and intermittent wind and solar power. continues to argue that it means that there is We believe all fossil fuels are dirty words.
At least that’s what Justin Trudeau is telling Canadians, and he’s open to the idea, as demonstrated by his recent lack of enthusiasm for shipping LNG directly from Canada to Europe. but argues that it is not economically viable due to lack of infrastructure, like Byzantines in Canada.The approval process to approve such infrastructure is one of the problems. not the department.
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Curiously, Trudeau representing Canada at the G-7 meeting in June— Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Japan have agreed to the following official statement:
“We underscore the important role that increased LNG supplies can play in accelerating Russia’s gradual exit from energy dependence, and that investment in this sector will be encouraged in response to the current crisis. I accept that it is necessary.”
The European Union went further in July, classifying natural gas (along with nuclear power) as a green energy source, which is used instead of coal for power generation.
This suggests that government policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can include natural gas projects to replace coal, which currently produces nearly 40% of the world’s electricity. It’s what investors know and it’s very important.
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In the real world, if governments are to quickly and effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions without causing catastrophic power outages, natural gas must be part of the solution.
In his inaugural speech last week, Conservative Party leader Pierre Polivre referred to fighting climate change with “technology, not taxes”.
Case in point? The United States, which has never introduced a carbon tax, surpassed its 2020 target and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17% from his 2005 level. This was done primarily by replacing coal-fired power generation with fracked natural gas.
Canada, which had the same target and a carbon tax (which Poilievre said would be abolished), fell short of a mile.
What Polivre hasn’t explained yet is how he will do it.