Road map to decarbonization: safe bets versus greenwashing

Since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's special report, which stated that to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 C global emissions would need to reach net zero by 2050, a number of countries, including Canada, and companies have made net-zero commitments. But what lies within the buzzword? As always, the devil is in the details. Global net zero means all human-induced emissions are absorbed by human-induced sinks, which means it can be achieved through eliminating or reducing emissions at the source and/or absorbing emissions. For example, two Canadian oil companies have claimed they are already reaching net-zero emissions by capturing carbon from smokestacks, which is pumped through the brand new Alberta Carbon Trunk Line pipeline towards depleted oil fields for “storage” (CCS) and increasing oil production through enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Yet to be demonstrated is how much carbon dioxide effectively stays underground and for how long, given the existence of multiple wells that often are not properly sealed. Further, the nascent technology is not without risk; potential pipeline accidents, well blowouts, and induced earthquakes put human life and the environment on the line in a region that is already one of the greatest ecological disasters on Earth. For EOR, CO2 will be used to recover fossil fuel resources that may have otherwise remained underground which, when burned, will release CO2 back into the atmosphere. This shows not only the need for publicly available verified data on actual storage, but also the need to properly set the parameters of the equation which must equal to net-zero emissions. Indeed, it would be a fallacy to claim a net reduction in CO2 through uncertain storage while disregarding the fact that the oil recovered will lead to further emissions through combustion. This is a form of greenwashing, and a widespread omission by oil-producing nations, which consistently disregard the fact that exporting fossil fuels can hamper decarbonization efforts in importing countries. Indeed, Canada exports fuels which roughly emit as much emissions when combusted abroad as the whole country emits territorially. In other words, when accounting for downstream emissions of exported fuels, Canada’s climate impact is twice what is commonly reported in national inventories. Focusing on CCS and EOR risks betting our future on uncertain and expensive technologies while furthering our dependencies on fossil fuels which are responsible for climate change. Natural Resources Canada’s investments in research, development, and demonstration projects in energy innovation for a clean economy showed that 34 per cent of the funding over the last decade went to projects associated with the fossil fuel supply chain such as CCS for EOR. This is not a safe bet. There are more efficient ways to navigate the risks and uncertainties and safer and faster paths to attain net zero. The Canadian Institute for Climate Choices (CICC) and my own white paper found that cost-effective solutions such as improving energy efficiency through more stringent building codes, shifting to non-emitting electricity, adopting heat pumps and electric vehicles should be the basis of Canada’s net zero journey. Similarly, a new report from the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine offers a blueprint for the transition with key policies that include: producing carbon-free electricity; electrifying energy services in transportation, buildings, and industry; investing in energy efficiency and productivity; planning, permitting, and building sustainable infrastructure; and expanding the innovation and R&D including how to manage a socially just energy transition. Near-term policies to ensure fair and equitable economic transition and increasing circularity of the manufacturing production cycles would not only help address climate change and attain net zero before 2050, but would also build a more competitive economy, increase high-quality jobs, and help address social inequalities. These are safe bets. As Canada searches for its own path towards net zero, let us not be swayed by siren songs of greenwashing. Instead let’s plan our future on safe bets which we know can help us finally reach the goals that historically we have missed. Rosa Galvez is an Independent Senator for Quebec and a professor of civil and water engineering at the Université Laval in Québec City. The Hill Times Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Natural Resources Canada’s investments in research, development, and demonstration projects in energy innovation for a clean economy showed that 39 per cent of the funding over the last decade went to projects associated with the fossil fuel supply chain such as CCS for EOR. In fact, it was 34 per cent. The Hill Times