“I am puzzled by the federal government’s just published ‘Just Transition Plan’ (now rebranded as the ‘Sustainable Jobs’ Plan) and will be in contact with the federal government in the coming weeks to discuss a number of issues identified in it.
“Although I note the Plan recognizes that Canada’s oil and gas sector is working towards lowering emissions through investing in emerging clean technologies and will be an important source of the world’s energy for decades, our Government is perplexed by the blatant exclusion of any federal strategy to aggressively increase LNG exports to obtain emissions credits (under international agreements) for replacing higher emitting fuels around the world with Canadian LNG while simultaneously driving economic growth in Alberta and Canada.
“This LNG export strategy, when combined with accelerated proliferation of CCUS, small modular nuclear reactors and other clean technologies will, by themselves, achieve Canada’s emissions reduction targets while maintaining growth in the energy industry for decades. The omission of any LNG strategy in this Plan is completely nonsensical.
“Our government also has grave concerns with the complete lack of recognition in the Plan for the provinces’ constitutional rights to develop our natural resources and to manage our labour workforce. Implementing a federal plan of this magnitude in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction doesn’t merely require piecemeal “discussions” with the provinces, it requires outright provincial approval and cooperation. Alberta has not been involved in any such approvals, nor included in the development of the Plan published today. This kind of dysfunctional communication by the federal government with our province cannot continue if Canada is to have any chance of achieving its 2050 emissions reduction targets.
“Once again, Alberta invites the federal government to come to the table in good faith to collaborate on a strategy to meaningfully reduce Alberta’s emissions while increasing investment in the Alberta energy sector; but this continued pattern of unilateral federal action in areas of provincial jurisdiction must stop immediately.
“Further, although there does not appear to be any references in the Plan related to the federal government’s previously proposed ‘oil and gas sector emissions cap’ or ‘clean electricity regulation’ (which omission is certainly positive), Alberta remains alarmed at the continued focus in this Plan on the federal ‘Emissions Reduction Plan’ (ERP) which aims to mandate reductions in emissions by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. This accelerated and arbitrary target is simply not viable or achievable without significant production cuts that will permanently devastate Alberta’s and Canada’s economy and freeze tens of billions in energy investment overnight.
“The ERP, as previously outlined by the federal government, would be a policy package of economic destruction to the Alberta and Canadian economies unlike any previous federal policy in our province’s history. The federal government must walk back the ERP, oil and gas emissions cap and clean electricity regulation, and instead focus on collaborating with Alberta and other provinces in investing in the emerging clean technologies and LNG export strategy necessary to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
“Our government will continue to monitor all legislation and regulation introduced by the federal government related to the above issues and stands ready to use every tool at its disposal to oppose any unconstitutional interference or economic attack on our province by Ottawa.”