Movement to keep fossil fuels in the ground gaining momentum in Canada and abroad

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The movement to keep oil and gas in the ground has reached Canada, as Quebec joined the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance this week — becoming the first North American member of a new group being launched at the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow that wants to phase out the production of oil and gas.

It comes after the Quebec government committed to permanently ban all oil and gas exploration and extraction within the province, closing the door on the future exploitation of a significant amount of natural gas reserves that could supply the province with its own energy for decades — and providing a model for other provinces to follow.

"We see provinces move first. This is what happened in terms of our public health system. It's also what happened quite significantly for carbon pricing, with Quebec and British Columbia moving first and then the federal government adopting this minimum standard across the country," said Caroline Brouillette, a Montreal-based policy expert at Climate Action Network Canada.

"So it totally makes sense that this is the way it would go forward in terms of putting an end to fossil fuel expansion in Canada."

Quebec does not currently produce any oil and gas, but it has 182 active exploration permits that cover 32,000 square kilometres of land, Brouillette said.

Cutting fossil fuel production also means targeting the emissions when oil and gas are burned. Canada, like other countries in the Paris Agreement, is only required to report emissions that come from its territory.

The emissions numbers for the oil and gas sector only account for emissions from producing, transporting and processing those fuels in Canada. The emissions from those fuels when they are actually burned in cars or power plants abroad don't count toward Canada's totals. 

"So most of the fossil fuels that Canada produces, we export and go somewhere else, and then they're consumed and they're burned. And the emissions associated with that shows up on another country's tab," said Angela Carter, an associate political science professor at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ont., who researches the fossil fuel industry.

This has led to a growing call to target the production and supply of oil and gas, rather than just the emissions. Canada's current plan to cut emissions from the oil and gas industry relies on making companies extract the oil more efficiently.

According to the official government modelling of Canada's climate plan, emissions from the oil and gas sector in the country are expected to fall from 193 Mt/CO2-equivalent in 2018 to 134 Mt/CO2-equivalent in 2030.

This modelling analysis took place before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's announcement this week of more ambitious targets for 2030 and a cap on oil and gas emissions that, when implemented, might lead to deeper emissions reductions.

"Yes, there is attention to bringing down the emissions associated with the extraction. And that needs to happen," Carter said.

"But in terms of absolute emissions globally, that means also winding down production."