Environment minister slams oilpatch for raking in cash and sitting idle on climate action
Global News
Steven Guilbeault says Canada's oil players have promised to act on greenhouse gas emissions, but instead have funnelled most of their record-breaking profits to shareholders.
The federal environment minister is calling out Canada’s oil companies for failing to put cash behind their promises to tackle climate change.
Steven Guilbeault says the country’s major oil players have promised to do something about greenhouse gas emissions, but instead have funnelled most of their record-breaking profits to shareholders.
This is at least the third time in the last six months Guilbeault’s frustration has spilled over as oil company profits soar. This time his critiques came in the form of a video posted to Twitter as major petroleum producers began releasing their third-quarter earnings.
“We’re already putting our money where our mouth is,” Guilbeault said in an interview. “I’m not sure they are.”
The first earnings report from the sector came on Friday from Imperial Oil, which reported $2 billion in profits for the third quarter and $6.2 billion for the first nine months of 2022. That compares with $1.7 billion for the first nine months of 2021.
The company said it plans to spend $1.5 billion in share buybacks and increased its quarterly dividend by 30 per cent.
Cenovus, Suncor and Canadian Natural Resources are set to release their earnings next week.
Those four companies, plus MEG Energy and ConocoPhillips Canada, make up what’s called the Pathways Alliance, a consortium formed to tackle climate action in the oilsands.