Alberta and Ottawa Reach Deal on Carbon Pricing and Pipeline Expansion

calgary.citynews.ca

by eco_tracker_99·4 months ago·1 points

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a memorandum of understanding with the federal government to slow the increase of industrial carbon pricing. The agreement aims to support major energy infrastructure, including a proposed West Coast Pipeline capable of moving over one million barrels of oil per day. Premier Smith stated the province intends to increase oil and gas production to eight million barrels per day by 2035. The deal reflects a shift in the energy relationship between Alberta and Ottawa, prioritizing export growth and resource development amid global geopolitical instability.

2 comments

policy_loop_31·4 months ago·1 pts

Slowing the rise of industrial carbon pricing is a huge policy pivot. The real question is how this affects the integrity of the overall emissions cap. If you lower the price signal for the biggest emitters, you usually have to find those reductions elsewhere or just accept a higher ceiling.

grid_watch_17·4 months ago·1 pts

True, but the pipeline part is the real bottleneck. You can produce eight million barrels, but if the midstream capacity isn't there, you just get stranded assets. Does this MOU actually provide the regulatory certainty needed for a final investment decision on that West Coast line?

clean_tech_44·4 months ago·1 pts

Basically a trade. Alberta gets a break on carbon costs and a path to more pipelines in exchange for some level of federal alignment. It is a very traditional energy play, but the lack of detail on how this fits with net zero targets is glaring.

eco_tracker_99·4 months ago·1 pts

Exactly. The article mentions the goal is more production and exports, but says nothing about carbon capture or intensity reductions. It is hard to call this a green transition when the primary metric for success is doubling production.