Alberta's ruling party votes to dump emissions reduction plans and embrace carbon dioxide

Members of Alberta’s ruling United Conservative Party have voted overwhelmingly to abandon the province’s emissions reduction targets and recognize carbon dioxide as “a foundational nutrient for all life on earth.” 

The motion was one of 35 policy resolutions up for debate Saturday on the second day of the UCP’s annual general meeting in Red Deer. Each resolution passed, most of them overwhelmingly. 

The motion essentially denies that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions caused by humans burning fossil fuels contribute to dangerous levels of global heating. Nonetheless, Premier Danielle Smith says she’s still committed to securing investment for carbon capture, utilization and storage technology to achieve the oil and gas industry’s pledge to achieve net zero by 2050.

In a media availability before the policy debates, Premier Smith suggested that she would honour the spirit but not the text of the CO2 resolution if it passed, continuing the government’s approach of supporting industry’s commitment to net zero by 2050.

She said the motion was indicative of the frustration Albertans feel toward the push to scale back the oil and gas industry.  

“The problem is net zero has become a shorthand for ‘leave it in the ground,’ and that's what our members are responding to,” said Smith. 

“I don't think our members oppose taking efforts to reduce emissions, but what they do oppose is the efforts of the federal government and a coalition of extreme environmentalists who want to stop the production of oil and gas altogether, and, absolutely, we’ll be fighting against that.” 

The motion to embrace CO2 was put forward by northern Alberta's Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock and Red Deer South riding associations. Its rationale was based on the statement that  “carbon cycle is a biological necessity.”

“The earth needs more CO2 to support life and to increase plant yields, both of which contribute to the Health and Prosperity [sic] of all Albertans,” it reads. 

While support for the resolution was overwhelming, it wasn’t entirely unanimous. 

Adam Bieganek, an attendee from the nearby riding of Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, noted that “CO2 is as important for the planet as drinking water is for me.”

“But just like I can go drink five litres of water and get water poisoning, too much CO2 is a detriment to the planet and it’s a detriment to the people,” Bieganek said to jeers from the audience. 

The resolution text notes correctly that global CO2 levels are at 420 parts per million (ppm), but falsely claims that this is “near the lowest level in over 1000 [sic] years.” According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global CO2 levels are the highest they’ve been since the Pliocene Epoch, about three million years ago. 

Delegate Raymond Chang of Calgary-Edgemont noted that if the resolution became party policy, “it will no longer make any sense to promote LNG [liquified natural gas] as a cleaner alternative to dirty coal produced in China and India.” 

The oil and gas industry acknowledges that CO2 emissions are a problem and has positioned LNG as a “bridge fuel” towards cleaner energy in the developing world. But even that argument is now in question. A recent peer-reviewed report from Cornell University found that over a 20-year period, LNG emits 33 per cent more CO2 than coal. 

Asked how the policy resolution’s passage will impact the government’s stated commitment to net zero by 2050, Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz was non-committal. 

“Just like we do on any policy resolution, we take that back to Albertans, we have conversations with any and all folks in industry and otherwise that would be impacted, and then we look at how that impacts our policies,” said Schulz. 

Beyond support for carbon capture, the Smith government hasn’t provided any firm details on how that target will be met.

And during her morning keynote address, Smith reiterated her commitment to double oil and gas production. 

Smith’s government has opposed the federal government’s proposed mandate to reach a clean electricity grid nationwide by 2035, methane reduction targets, a forthcoming cap on oil and gas emissions and the carbon tax. 

Keith Stewart, a senior energy strategist with Greenpeace Canada, told Canada’s National Observer that the resolution’s passage represents “an utter failure of leadership by Danielle Smith.”

“A real leader wouldn’t pander to conspiracy theories but instead gently, but firmly, inform their supporters that they have been misled, because climate change is real, it’s bad and it’s caused by burning fossil fuels,” Stewart said in a statement. 

“Anything less is a crime against our kids.”