The government may have promised to slash hydrocarbon production, but it has made very little concrete effort to date
Letter from Canada: Under siege oil sands pledge support for emissions cuts
Critics highlight that the energy sector needs to accelerate decarbonisation if Canada is to meet its climate goals
Canada has yet to walk the talk on carbon emission reductions. And to a great extent this can be blamed on rapidly rising emissions from the country’s oil and gas industry, especially the oil sands. On the eve of the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow, prominent environmentalists and sympathetic thinktanks have released commentary and research reports arguing that Canada must shutter its oil and gas industry to achieve its international commitments—cutting emissions to 40-45pc below 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050. One of Canada’s most famous environmentalists, Tzeporah Berman, wrote that during the recent election campaign Prime Minister Trudeau’s Liberal Party had prom
Also in this section
12 December 2025
The federal government is working with Alberta to improve the country’s access to Asian markets and reduce dependence on the US, but there are challenges to their plans
11 December 2025
The removal of the ban on oil and gas exploration and an overhaul of the system sends all the right messages for energy security, affordability and sustainability
10 December 2025
The economic and environmental cost of the seven-year exploration ban will be felt long after its removal
9 December 2025
The group’s oil production declined in November, our latest analysis finds, amid divided sentiment over market balances and geopolitical jitters
