Saskatchewan's fossilized policy on energy
[ http://leaderpost.com/opinion/letters/s ... -on-energy ]
Published on: July 11, 2016 | Last Updated: July 11, 2016 2:51 PM CST
Daniel Cayley-Daoust, energy and climate campaigner, Council of Canadians, Ottawa writes:
Re: July 6 story, “Canadian Resources Minister Jim Carr acknowledges carbon capture and storage has important role.” [ http://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/c ... rtant-role ]
Premier Brad Wall continues to tout Saskatchewan’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) experiment as salvation for the province’s economy and ailing fossil fuel industry. Yet CCS has time and again been critiqued as inefficient and extremely expensive.
Coal companies are declaring bankruptcy and the world is shifting away from fossil fuels. Yet Wall insists on supporting the unproven and expensive illusion of CCS. In reality, support for CCS and the Energy East oil pipeline is likely to lead Saskatchewan into deeper economic hardship.
Wall and federal minister Carr need to recognize that real economic leadership must include real climate leadership. We need durable climate solutions that move us away from dependence on oil. It won’t be easy, but delaying this much-needed energy shift only means worse economic times ahead.
It would be a mistake for Carr and Wall to brush aside the appetite that all Canadians have for a climate-friendly economic future.