{"id":182987,"date":"2026-08-25T21:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T21:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/182987\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T21:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T21:38:08","slug":"canada-is-not-a-climate-laggard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/182987\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada is not a climate laggard |"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recently released Yale and Columbia University Environmental Performance Index (EPI)<\/a> suggests that Canada is an environmental laggard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We can expect those who object to the recent pragmatic policy changes Ottawa has made regarding oil production and transport, and British Columbia regarding LNG exports and the continued use of domestic natural gas, to take advantage<\/a> of the EPI project.<\/p>\n

In a comparison of the Global West, Canada ranks<\/a> 21st out of 22 countries. However, the ranking system overlooks some key characteristics: 19 of the 22 countries are tiny compared to Canada; only Australia mirrors Canada\u2019s sparse population distribution and high power demand due to extreme hot and cold climates.<\/p>\n

Reading the IEA\u2019s Global Methane Tracker<\/a>, we find that in 2026 Canada has the lowest methane intensity in upstream and downstream oil and gas production in North America and ranks in the top tier among global rivals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Digging deeper into Canada\u2019s carbon emission record, we find more to be positive about.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s real-life record ignored in favour of policy goals<\/p>\n

In 2003, Ontario relied on coal for 25 per cent of its electricity and brought that share to zero in 2014<\/a>. Alberta cut coal electricity generation from 54 per cent<\/a> in 2015 to zero by 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Per capita emissions remain comparatively high, largely due to<\/a> land area, latitude, and the country\u2019s status as a significant global supplier of oil and gas, other resources, and agricultural products.<\/p>\n

Population: up roughly 9 million since 2005\u00a0
Total emissions: down 10 per cent since 2005
Emissions per person: down from 24 to 17 tonnes CO2 eq (roughly 30 per cent)
Emissions per unit of economic output: down 37 per cent since 2005Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2026 National Inventory Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CCUS in Canada<\/p>\n

Canada is home to roughly one-seventh of the world\u2019s active large-scale carbon management projects, and has been an early mover in carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) since some of the technology\u2019s first large-scale deployments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following COP26 in 2021, Canada and other oil and gas producers, including the United States and Norway, placed greater emphasis on carbon management, particularly for hard-to-abate sectors and oil and gas production itself.<\/p>\n

The IPCC<\/a> has concluded that CCUS deployment currently lags what\u2019s needed to limit warming to 1.5\u00b0C or 2\u00b0C, making the pursuit of Canada\u2019s Carbon Management Strategy<\/a> even more important.<\/p>\n

The climate activists\u2019 campaign ramps up\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite Canada not being a climate laggard, the climate movement has turned its attacks on the pragmatic economic changes Ottawa and the provinces have made to rebuild the economy in the face of existential threats.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tech bros bad\u2014Big Oil bad<\/p>\n

Forever, the climate movement\u2019s villain was Big Oil. Now it has Big Tech to add to its populist campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Underlying the attacks against data centres, new pipelines, and LNG is the notion that actions taken in Canada would affect temperatures and wildfires in the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

Worse, they ignore the domestic and global benefits of continuing on the pragmatic path Canadians are supporting today.<\/p>\n

Street protests against data centres<\/a> in Vancouver have begun, even though the province has already imposed tight restrictions on data and AI centres. Anti-pipeline and LNG campaigns are about to start ramping up.<\/p>\n

Emily Lowan\u2019s Green Party<\/a> is organizing a petition against the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline (PRGT), which they label a MAGA pipeline. The Green Party is doing so despite the Nisga\u2019a Nation<\/a> holding an ownership stake in the pipeline that will supply the Ksi Lisims floating LNG terminal\u2014which is itself an historic Nisga\u2019a project. The Gitxaala now supports the Nisga\u2019a projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs<\/a> have written to Prime Minister Carney and Premier Smith, with a copy going to Premier Eby, calling for a halt to efforts to advance the West Coast Pipeline.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Three reasons to keep going\u00a0<\/p>\n

Data centres<\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s research<\/a> finds 17.8 per cent of the world\u2019s working-age population uses AI in some form. The growth is so persistent that they track it quarterly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Protests against data centres will not stop the demand for them from growing. It would result in a missed opportunity for massive domestic and foreign direct investment in data storage on Canadian soil, under Canadian law.<\/p>\n

An essay published by the HUB<\/a> suggests that Canada should become the world\u2019s data-centre capital rather than trying to replicate Silicon Valley. Software is a global phenomenon and data storage is domestic.<\/p>\n

We have the comparative advantage of large, very sparsely populated areas with a cold climate. The pairing of renewables with nuclear, natural gas and potentially thermal and new hydro generation presents a tremendous opportunity.<\/p>\n

Construction employment is huge, and when operating, data centres provide jobs similar to those at a midsized factory. Communities in Northern Canada, 400 jobs really means something. Maybe this is why more Indigenous communities are looking into Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)<\/p>\n

Pipelines<\/p>\n

Potential oil customers are knocking on Canada\u2019s door weekly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Energy security<\/a> will be a top issue long past the current geopolitical turmoil, giving Canadian oil and natural gas a strong competitive advantage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish there were a few more Canadas in the world, so that we can have a much more reliable and sustainable global energy system.\u201d\u2014Fatih Birol<\/a>, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency<\/p>\n

This should give us confidence in the market and give assurance that we are doing the right thing by exporting more.<\/p>\n

Natural gas<\/p>\n

As noted, Canada\u2019s low methane intensity makes our natural gas a strong replacement for coal\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is hard to visualize just how much coal and organic material needs to be replaced over time. We can get an idea with this chart.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Replacing coal and traditional biomass (wood, waste, animal dung, etc.) combined comes very close to replacing oil. And, much of it will need to be replaced with firm power.<\/p>\n

The situation provides a lot of space for BC\u2019s LNG, Canada\u2019s growing expertise in CCUS and conventional and small modular nuclear reactors\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to modelling in the Public Policy Forum\u2019s Dec. 8, 2025 publication, Refuel<\/a>, the completion of all in-progress LNG terminals in British Columbia would result in global reductions of GHG emissions equivalent to\u2014and at the high end of the model, larger than\u2014a full year of all B.C.\u2019s economically caused emissions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Embracing global climate pragmatism<\/p>\n

Consider the benefits of proceeding with today\u2019s plans as quickly as reasonably possible, year over year. Globally, the benefits would be celebrated and boost national pride.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Domestically, living standards would rise, deficits would disappear, the social safety net would widen, and, for those most concerned about environmental issues, our own green transition would be accelerated.<\/p>\n

The move toward pragmatism has changed the elite premise that emission reductions only count domestically. Climate Change is a global problem; emissions counts should be global, and greener products should be recognized.<\/p>\n

In British Columbia, we should respect the work of Prime Minister Carney and Premiers Smith and Eby, for each, in their own way, is bringing economic and climate pragmatism to pipelines, LNG and data centres; we surely need it.<\/p>\n

Pragmatic action is hard, not fancy, but necessary.<\/p>\n

Jim Rushton is a 46-year veteran of BC\u2019s resource and transportation sectors, with experience in union representation, economic development, and terminal management. Reach him at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Resource Works News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The recently released Yale and Columbia University Environmental Performance Index (EPI) suggests that Canada is an environmental laggard.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182988,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17,9739,1528,20484,9320],"class_list":["post-182987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-canada","tag-carbon-capture","tag-clean-energy","tag-digital-infrastructure","tag-natural-gas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}