Canadian oil companies and the government of the oil-producing province of Alberta are deeply worried about an overcapacity of oil which has dramatically cut the price fetched by a barrel of Canadian oil. Some companies have even proposed limiting production. Others are vehemently opposed.
Meanwhile, the environmental group, Greenpeace says the oil companies have no one to blame but themselves. The group’s climate campaigner, Mike Hudema says the oil companies over built ignoring the warning signs that new pipelines to transport the oil would not be built anytime soon.
He notes the oil companies ignored setbacks in the building of the Keystone XL and the Northern Gateway pipelines assuming “they could bulldoze over Indigenous rights, procedural fairness, and the courts.”
Canadian oil producers expect to reduce emissions caused by oilsands processes but Greenpeace says Canada should be scaling down oil production altogether. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press/Sept. 10, 2018)
Consider climate change, says activist
Hudema says oil companies also left out the discussion of the issue of climate change. He notes the International Panel on Climate Change has said fossil fuel emissions need to be drastically cut to avert climate catastrophe. He says “building new 30-40 year fossil fuel infrastructure is a sure way to catastrophe.”
Instead, Hudema says Canada should be discussing how to scale down oil production, and support workers and their families in the process.
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