Por Tom Balmforth
KYIV – Canada wants to be a good energy partner for Europe, but it will not abandon its climate goals or its plan to transition to cleaner fuels, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday.
Trudeau, on an unannounced visit to Ukraine, also said he trusts the Bank of Canada in its attempts to control inflation. Earlier, Trudeau said that Canada will provide Ukraine with new weapons and equipment and will reopen its embassy in kyiv, the country’s capital.
In March, Canada unveiled a roadmap for meeting 2030 climate goals, laying out detailed plans and spending C$9.1 billion (US$7.3 billion) to cut carbon emissions that warm the planet, after years of failing to meet its goals. It plans to cut carbon emissions 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030.
The oil and gas sector is the most polluting in Canada, with 26% of total emissions. To meet the government’s target, the sector would have to make drastic cuts.
“Canada is one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world, but at the same time we know how important it is to move even faster on the transition to net zero,” Trudeau said.
The government is discussing with Repsol and Pieridae Energy, the companies behind two proposals for liquefied natural gas export facilities (LNG) on the East Coast, to see how it can speed up projects and help boost supply to Europe, Canada’s natural resources minister told Reuters on Friday.
“We want to be good energy partners with our European friends, but we are never going to stop fighting climate change,” Trudeau said on Sunday.
“Part of that is recognizing that the same infrastructure that can be used for LNG it can also be used for hydrogen and ammonia that are possibly going to power the transition away from fossil fuels.”
–
