AS OIL SANDS COMPANIES COMMIT TO NET-ZERO, KENNEY MUST DO THE SAME

EDMONTON - Canada's largest oil sands producers have announced an alliance to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 just days after NDP Leader Rachel Notley committed to achieving a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. However, Premier Jason Kenney has refused to commit to either goal and must do so in order to attract investment and create jobs as the world moves towards a low-carbon economy. 

“Our world is changing and we must change with it. Achieving net-zero is an enormous opportunity to attract investment and create good-paying jobs for Albertans. We can choose to lead and seize this opportunity or be left behind,” said Notley. 

At the NDP convention on the weekend, Notley committed to achieving net-zero as a province by 2050, as well as a net-zero grid by 2035, if elected. 

While the world moves towards net-zero by 2050, Premier Kenney and his UCP government have refused to commit to the goal, with some ministers openly criticizing it. 

Even though Energy Minister Sonya Savage expressed support for the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero initiative today, as recently as May 20, she called achieving net-zero by 2050 “unreasonable” and an “unfeasible” proposal “driven by activists.”

Environment Minister Jason Nixon has called it “pie-in-the-sky numbers.” 

In the Legislature on Monday, the Associate Minister of Natural Gas and Electricity criticized the NDP’s plan to achieve a net-zero grid, calling it “socialist meddling.”

“The world is watching. Committing to net-zero by 2050 sends a clear signal to the international business community that Alberta is willing to lead in the future economy,” said Notley. “It’s a shame that the UCP refuses to do so.”