不良研究所

Alberta鈥檚 New Democratic Party government has had an aggressive carbon policy  The carbon policy was meant to be a bookend to getting a pipeline built to tidewater so Alberta oil could reach international markets.

The climate policy plus pipeline strategy was designed to be collaborative with the federal government because the . Alberta鈥檚 largest oil industry players were supportive of the NDP government鈥檚 carbon policies and committed to continue and boost their efforts to reduce their emissions.

But a series of federal environmental and  legal hurdles over the past four years has resulted in delays in pipeline building.

Nonetheless, Alberta鈥檚 largest oil industry players 

With an election on April 16, the polls-leading United Conservative Party (UCP) is now campaigning with a no-holds-barred aggressive 鈥済et a pipeline built鈥� approach complete with a .

Carbon policy is all but missing from the UCP platform, with the notable exception of scrapping the carbon tax and hinting that most other NDP climate initiatives will face a similar fate.

Many Albertans lean to fiscal conservatism and worry that the NDP is not sufficiently frugal while the province continues to suffer a recession. Yet they are not committed UCP supporters. Many of these fiscally conservative voters share the NDP鈥檚 environmental values. .

These environmental values received a jolt with . The report concluded that 

I believe, as a scholar in energy and environment, that the responsible production and export of oil, as well as the export of industry expertise and know-how, is key to Alberta鈥檚 future. Renewables and electricity storage will no doubt be important growth sectors, but oil will remain a significant part of Alberta鈥檚 energy portfolio for decades, despite the global energy transition to a lower-carbon economy.

Most of Canada鈥檚 oil is in Alberta

, and  Most of that oil is in Alberta.

The oil-and-gas industry is also Canada鈥檚 largest exporter.  The industry and its supply chains employ thousands across the country in good jobs. 

More than a dozen years ago, former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper proclaimed to the world in London that  I was in the room in Houston two years ago when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared: 

Global oil demand is growing and the United States, historically Canada鈥檚 only oil customer, has recently become the world鈥檚 largest oil producer 

Like the U.S., Canada鈥檚 oil industry has also . Canada, however, needs pipelines to its coasts to reach overseas markets. And Canada, unlike the U.S., lacks a large domestic market.

The United States, meantime, for the first time in half a century, has so much oil that it鈥檚 exporting it. .

Canada is a signatory to the Paris Accord on climate change. Consequently, the federal and Alberta governments introduced carbon taxes and Alberta placed a greenhouse gas emissions cap on the oilsands.

Alberta鈥檚 largest oilsands companies, understanding that , endorsed these policies. They welcomed them as being consistent with their own efforts to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions and costs, despite their heavy oils being higher in emissions than lighter oils.

Reducing emissions

My organizational studies on  show that, due to restrictions on emissions and cost pressures, the industry is leading in technology development. These new .

Another stream of research I am involved in examines quantitatively 鈥攗sing data from the Alberta Energy Regulator, Statistics Canada and corporate financial and sustainability reports 鈥� what the results are of this process innovation in terms of a metric called .

Our studies show that EROI, or energy efficiency, from Alberta oilsands is improving and . Improved energy efficiency equals lower emissions. Among much sought-after , Alberta鈥檚 heavy oil has, arguably, the lowest carbon footprint, making it attractive.

Yet another recent study, published in Science, found that while waste gas flaring from conventional oil production worldwide had increased since 2010, it has not in Canada. The paper concluded that .

Alberta exports knowledge

Besides oil, Alberta has long exported technology and know-how to other oil-producing countries.

I am carrying out my EROI studies collaboratively with colleagues at the China University of Petroleum-Beijing, and funding comes jointly from my Suncor-sponsored research chair in strategy and sustainability and from the 

According to Chinese diplomats in Canada with whom I have spoken, China is keen to reduce their carbon footprint and to meet their Paris commitments by switching electricity generation from coal to natural gas from Canada, and, for 

Given this innovative spirit and its emissions-reducing results, is this a time for Alberta to turn its back on carbon policy and tarnish its reputation in a world transitioning to lower carbon?

I say categorically no.

The United States may be able to isolate itself from global carbon policy because it has a large domestic market. Alberta and Canada are dependent on global energy markets and we cannot isolate ourselves from global carbon policy. Industry understands that. As they head to the polls soon, Albertans must understand it too.

Carbon policy should not be polarized as a left-right partisan issue, but should be embraced across the board.