Letter to the Editor by Sam Arnold, Moncton Times & Transcript, 28 December 2022
Norbert Cunningham’s December 27 column (The Moncton Times & Transcript) included a poignant two-word sentence: “Ethics matter.” Indeed, they do!
The Daily Gleaner’s top story that day said that 79 of NB Power’s highest paid employees earned over $200,000 and six cleared over $300,000, while some approached $500,000-plus. These are earnings for Toronto, not mostly rural New Brunswick.
Commentary by Jim Emberger, Telegraph-Journal, Nov. 19, 2022
New reports from COP27 are useful tools to assess whether Premier Higgs’ natural gas policies reflect current reality.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD), and the UN Environmental Program issued separate reports with a common conclusion: limiting global warming to 1.5°C requires an immediate halt to new fossil fuel development.
The IISD tested 97 possible pathways to stay under 1.5°C. None succeeded if new fossil fuel development was allowed. The IEA said new development should have ended in 2021.
Media Release
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt – On Thursday November 17th, 12 PM Eastern Time ,/ 7 PM Eastern European Standard Time organizations and community leaders from Canada and Germany presented a joint open letter to Canada’s Environment and Climate Change Minister, Steven Guilbault at COP27. The letter outlines concerns that three proposed export LNG projects located on Canada’s East Coast will exceed global carbon pollution budgets and nullify both countries’ climate commitments. Comments made by Canadian leaders, including Canada’s Deputy Minister Freeland, indicate they are willing to “fast-track” LNG in the name of helping allies or “friend shoring” – even though such projects will accelerate the climate crisis and make the world less stable.
“The East Coast of Canada was just hammered by tropical storm Fiona, which caused loss of lives and homes, and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. To have Canada and Germany horse-trading over projects that will add fuel to raging climate fires is unacceptable and unjust.” according to Jim Emberger, New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance. “As the world meets at COP27 to shore up climate commitments, we need answers on these projects.“
Opinion by Jim Emberger | Telegraph Journal, August 13, 2022
Editor’s Note: As part of our In-Depth series, we invited a proponent and an opponent of the LNG export terminal in Saint John to make their case. Below is Jim Emberger’s argument against the project. Read Michelle Robichaud’s piece here.
The economic and climate costs of developing an LNG export facility in Saint John are real and significant. Benefits, if any, will come at great risk.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently stated, “Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness.”
He was summing up the warnings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Energy Agency, and climate scientists everywhere. Developing new fossil fuel projects will hinder any chance of meeting the climate targets necessary to save the world from dire consequences.
Environmental organizations representing millions of Canadians call on the federal government to reject new East Coast LNG export facilities due to climate-wrecking emissions and risks of stranded assets
Halifax, NS – Ahead of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Canada to discuss a potential LNG deal, environmental organizations representing millions of Canadians are launching an initiative called StoptheGas to call on the federal government to reject proposals for new East Coast gas export facilities due to climate impacts and economic risks.
“On the world stage, Canadian politicians deliver passionate speeches about climate action, but their words will be revealed as empty promises if the federal government approves new fossil gas infrastructure on the East Coast that will facilitate climate-damaging emissions. As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, ‘investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure is moral and economic madness,” says Kelsey Lane, Climate Policy Coordinator, Ecology Action Centre.
Des organismes environnementaux demandent au gouvernement fédéral de rejeter les projets d’installations d’exportation de GNL sur la côte Est
Montréal (Québec) — À l’approche de la visite du chancelier allemand Olaf Scholz au Canada en août pour discuter d’un accord potentiel sur le gaz naturel liquéfié (GNL), des organismes environnementaux représentant des millions de Canadien(ne)s lancent l’initiative Stoppons le Gaz (https://www.stopthegas.ca/fr) dans laquelle ils demandent au gouvernement fédéral de rejeter tout projet d’exportation de gaz sur la côte Est en raison des risques climatiques et économiques.
« En dépit de ce que veut faire croire l’industrie des énergies fossiles, les projets d’exportation de gaz ne représentent absolument pas une solution à la situation énergétique en Europe causée par la guerre en Ukraine, puisque les besoins énergétiques de l’Europe seront en grande partie résolus des années avant que toute nouvelle infrastructure canadienne de GNL soit opérationnelle », déclare le porte-parole d’Équiterre, Émile Boisseau-Bouvier.
Plusieurs projets sont envisagés dont deux, le projet Goldboro LNG de Pieridae Energy et le projet Saint John LNG de Repsol, qui pourraient entraîner une augmentation des volumes de gaz transitant dans le réseau de Gazoduc TQM qui traverse le sud du Québec.
Commentary by Louise Comeau | Telegraph Journal, August 3, 2022
Premier Blaine Higgs is pushing for a private-sector company, Repsol, to convert its Saint John LNG (liquefied natural gas) import terminal into an export terminal for energy security, economic development and energy transition. We are told that shipping LNG to Europe can address energy security issues due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Premier Higgs says we could convert the Saint John plant from an import facility to an export facility within three years. He says there could be economic development if we lift the province’s shale gas moratorium to speed up the process and make the conversion more cost-effective relative to other methane gas supply and pipeline options. And, the premier claims New Brunswick can advance energy transition as the LNG terminal could “easily be converted” to hydrogen in the future.
Are these arguments factual? You decide.
Commentary by Sam Arnold|Telegraph Journal August 3, 2022
Premier Higgs made one astute statement as reported in a recent Brunswick News story (Feds, Atlantic provinces aim for energy deal by end of year):
“The goal out of this [agreement] is to have something that’s overarching by the end of the year. We agreed to the whole validation of the requirements, the timing, and the ability to supply energy in a way Atlantic residents can afford. It entails the four provinces to have an overarching look at our energy requirements and not just one-offs.”
The Atlantic Loop is a logical choice for New Brunswick and the other eastern provinces, providing the Indigenous people – the Innu of Sheshatshui and Inuit of the upper Lake Melville and Rigolet, and other Indigenous people in Labrador who were forced to give up so much for the Muskrat Hydro Project. They must be properly compensated for the loss of their traditional hunting and fishing territory.
“If Blaine Higgs tries to start fracking in New Brunswick once again, he’s very likely to see the same resistance from First Nations and other land defenders that rocked the province nearly a decade ago.”
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by Jim Emberger | Commentary Telegraph Journal, 28 June 2022
A recent Brunswick News editorial admitted Canadian fossil fuel companies might not profit on the misfortunes of the war in Ukraine (“Think long-term on resource projects,” June 17). That should have been a foregone conclusion.
Europe’s search for natural gas to replace Russian supplies logically pointed it toward nations that could fill its needs immediately. Many European nations also stressed that their climate crisis plans to reduce gas usage as quickly as possible were still in effect.
Canada would take years to become a European supplier, by which time there may no longer be a demand. Large fossil fuel projects are also generally planned for 30-year lifespans to recoup the massive financial investment involved. So, investors in Canada would risk their investments becoming stranded (essentially, lost) if the Europeans stick to their climate pledges.