Last month, Alberta didn’t just announce it had transitioned entirely off coal as an energy source; the province kicked the fossil fuel six years ahead of a wildly ambitious schedule. The scale of achievement this represents defies exaggeration—and contains a warning for oil fans everywhere. […] what happened to coal is coming for oil next.
Virtually every major analyst that isn’t an oil company (and even some of them, like BP) now expects global demand for oil to peak around 2030, if not sooner; McKinsey, Rystad Energy, DNV, and the International Energy Agency all agree. This places Canada in a uniquely vulnerable position. Oil is Canada’s biggest export by a mile, a vital organ of our economy: we sold $123 billion worth of it in 2022 (cars came in second, at just under $30 billion). Three quarters of that oil is exported as bitumen—the most expensive, emissions-heavy form of petroleum in the market and therefore the hardest to sell. That makes us incredibly sensitive to fluctuations in global demand. Think of coal as the canary in our oil patch.
Other than selling mediocre coffee and McMansions to each other, Canada has precious little else. That’s why we cling like limpets to extractive industry: without it, we’ve got nothing because our governments have comprehensively failed to develop much of an industry, preferring to give tax breaks to oil barons and house traders.
There is also West Coast forestry which is going to nosedive as we destroy most of the trees in BC as climate change burns and floods through the rest.
We don’t even own our shitty coffee anymore, and most of our mcmansions are owned by foreign investors.
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Extractive industry is heavily required if we’re going to get off fossil fuels, we have tons of metals that are pretty damn important for building nuclear and various renewable energy sources.
But in the meantime, the world was clamouring for natural gas because of sudden restrictions due to the war in Ukraine and it was pants-on-head retarded to turn that down.
Uhm, natural gas is not an alternative to oil. Has the same problems.
Which is true, but the issue is that Canada didn’t plan ahead like either Saudi Arabia or Norway and use our oil wealth for something useful.
We have away royalties and used the money for tax cuts and giveaways to the rich. Alberta in particular is guilty of being unable to plan for a rainy day.
When the USA stops flirting and goes fully fascist we can become a powerhouse in scientific research and film/tv production.
When the USA goes full on fascism, we’re France.
Unfortunately, we probably don’t even get to be France. We might be Austria though.
I was writing a rant, but yeah, I’m tired of our industry being snapped up and run into the ground and important crown corps or public works being sold off for pennies.
We didn’t get here overnight and we won’t get out overnight either, there’s definitely been some movement, lots of strategic plans and investments plus the technology superclusters are working to update our industry, just would like to see the needle move faster and like, more reporting and messaging on what’s being done at each level of government because I don’t feel like we’re generally aware of that.
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The walrus got two things wrong, right in the headline:
Canada
Alberta
On for dear life
…the rest of Canada hostage
Other than that, good title.
Alberta just kicked Coal years ahead of schedule. Yes, they’re also keeping the rest of the country using and producing oil, but clearly that province is working hard to reduce emissions.
Something is working
Canada is run by oil companies. They need to make hay while the sun shines. When the price crashes, their whales will already have quietly moved their assets elsewhere, and the people who actually use Canada as a place to live instead of as a colonialist state that exists to serve corporations will just be fucked. Tell me that’s not the actual plan.
Canada as a place to live instead of as a colonialist state that exists to serve corporations
And right there is the best summary I’ve seen for what is wrong with Canada
In a sense it’s not at all what is wrong with Canada, because it’s literally what Canada was created to be. This is Canada functioning as designed. Nothing has fundamentally changed since it was created to serve the Hudson Bay Company.
Don’t worry, we can fall back on our #1 driver of GDP… real estate!
I mean despite the oil companies whining about how important they are oil represents what, 3.5 percent of Canada’s GDP?
I’m being a bit cynical here, but is it because the coal comes from BC?
No. If you want to be cynical, ask if they are still burning natural gas.
The natural gas comes from Alberta, the coal comes from BC though, no?
I think they are coal free ( regardless of source ). However, they are not “fossil fuel” free as in believe they still burn natural gas to generate electricity ( more than ever I think ).
Better but maybe not what people think when they boast about being “coal free”.
Not relevant, but am I the only one who sees that preview graphic and hears the “Level Passed” music from Super Mario Bros?
all I can hear right now is detachable detachable detachable penis
peak around 2030
And then we have to get rid of it in only 20 years? Ambitious.
