Don Braid, Calgary Herald
Premier Jason Kenney’s overall approval rating from Albertans is down again, to 31 per cent.
© Provided by Calgary Herald Premier Jason Kenney in Edmonton on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020, announced a strategy to grow and expand the natural gas sector.
Hot air won’t lift him up. Maybe hydrogen will, unless he and his ministers are hit with more scandals around COVID-19 rules.
Wednesday’s announcement of a $1.3-billion hydrogen project in Edmonton’s Heartland area was just the kind of news the UCP government needs.
Such a project is transformative, literally. It uses a good old Alberta feedstock, natural gas, to produce hydrogen while capturing and storing the CO2 from the natural gas.
The traditional industry is ensured markets, while the end product is high on most lists of “net-zero” emission fuels for decades to come.
When (and if) agreements with the company are finalized, this project will be a valuable symbol of Alberta’s shift to modern energy products that align with climate goals.
Albertans desperately desire two things, it seems to me — an end to this pandemic and the creation of a durable, prosperous economy that builds respectfully on the past.
There is no space between Alberta and Ottawa on the hydrogen push. Kenney agrees with the federal focus. The news conference was a symphony of mutual praise.
The U.S. chair and CEO of Air Products, Seifi Ghasemi, said the company is attracted by Canada’s world leadership in emissions policy.
“We are proud to expand our presence in this dynamic region, where we have found a vision for decarbonization that mirrors our core values,” he said.
Kenney pitched in enthusiastically. Forgotten for the moment was hostility to Ottawa’s far less friendly attitude toward oil and pipelines.
Even on that front there was critical movement Wednesday, as five major oilsands producers promised net-zero production by 2050, with help from both the Alberta and federal governments.
The NDP immediately challenged Kenney to match Leader Rachel Notley’s goal of a net-zero electricity grid by 2035 . She also says the whole province should be emission-free by 2050.
Soon enough, the UCP came out with comments like “socialist meddling.”
The NDP loves to goad the UCP into statements that seem hostile to environment and climate action. Works every time, and blurs the fact that the UCP is taking serious steps on several fronts.
The government needs to keep its environmental message straight and consistent, both for its own political future and the province’s image.
Are the UCP just piecemeal fans of net-zero when big money and jobs are at stake? Or do they really want the energy business — and the provincial economy itself — to transform into a dynamic new form?
It’s never quite clear, partly because of the UCP’s confusing and contradictory attitude toward Ottawa.
Kenney had nothing but praise Wednesday for the collaboration needed to put the hydrogen deal together. In return, he got hallelujahs from the key federal players, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, and Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Reagan.
Two days earlier, Kenney was trumpeting the provincial referendum to remove the equalization formula from Canada’s Constitution.
Equalization has not been kind to Alberta. You can still see the bitter slogans on cars and fence posts — “No pipelines? No equalization!” This program needs major reform.
But if Albertans vote to actually abolish equalization, Alberta would be the national villain just when the only hope for change is co-operation from other provinces.
Wednesday afternoon, the province formally announced the windup of its Keystone XL Partnership with TC Energy .
Of all the bad memories in recent energy disputes, this is the worst — President Joe Biden cancelling the whole project on his first day in office, after Kenney had risked more than $1.3 billion of Albertans’ money.
Rather than go through this dismal cycle again, it makes so much more sense to create products at home that the world wants to buy. May hydrogen prosper.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald
dbraid@postmedia.com
Twitter: @DonBraid
Facebook: Don Braid Politics
Hot air won’t lift him up. Maybe hydrogen will, unless he and his ministers are hit with more scandals around COVID-19 rules.
Wednesday’s announcement of a $1.3-billion hydrogen project in Edmonton’s Heartland area was just the kind of news the UCP government needs.
Such a project is transformative, literally. It uses a good old Alberta feedstock, natural gas, to produce hydrogen while capturing and storing the CO2 from the natural gas.
The traditional industry is ensured markets, while the end product is high on most lists of “net-zero” emission fuels for decades to come.
When (and if) agreements with the company are finalized, this project will be a valuable symbol of Alberta’s shift to modern energy products that align with climate goals.
Albertans desperately desire two things, it seems to me — an end to this pandemic and the creation of a durable, prosperous economy that builds respectfully on the past.
There is no space between Alberta and Ottawa on the hydrogen push. Kenney agrees with the federal focus. The news conference was a symphony of mutual praise.
The U.S. chair and CEO of Air Products, Seifi Ghasemi, said the company is attracted by Canada’s world leadership in emissions policy.
“We are proud to expand our presence in this dynamic region, where we have found a vision for decarbonization that mirrors our core values,” he said.
Kenney pitched in enthusiastically. Forgotten for the moment was hostility to Ottawa’s far less friendly attitude toward oil and pipelines.
Even on that front there was critical movement Wednesday, as five major oilsands producers promised net-zero production by 2050, with help from both the Alberta and federal governments.
The NDP immediately challenged Kenney to match Leader Rachel Notley’s goal of a net-zero electricity grid by 2035 . She also says the whole province should be emission-free by 2050.
Soon enough, the UCP came out with comments like “socialist meddling.”
The NDP loves to goad the UCP into statements that seem hostile to environment and climate action. Works every time, and blurs the fact that the UCP is taking serious steps on several fronts.
The government needs to keep its environmental message straight and consistent, both for its own political future and the province’s image.
Are the UCP just piecemeal fans of net-zero when big money and jobs are at stake? Or do they really want the energy business — and the provincial economy itself — to transform into a dynamic new form?
It’s never quite clear, partly because of the UCP’s confusing and contradictory attitude toward Ottawa.
Kenney had nothing but praise Wednesday for the collaboration needed to put the hydrogen deal together. In return, he got hallelujahs from the key federal players, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, and Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Reagan.
Two days earlier, Kenney was trumpeting the provincial referendum to remove the equalization formula from Canada’s Constitution.
Equalization has not been kind to Alberta. You can still see the bitter slogans on cars and fence posts — “No pipelines? No equalization!” This program needs major reform.
But if Albertans vote to actually abolish equalization, Alberta would be the national villain just when the only hope for change is co-operation from other provinces.
Wednesday afternoon, the province formally announced the windup of its Keystone XL Partnership with TC Energy .
Of all the bad memories in recent energy disputes, this is the worst — President Joe Biden cancelling the whole project on his first day in office, after Kenney had risked more than $1.3 billion of Albertans’ money.
Rather than go through this dismal cycle again, it makes so much more sense to create products at home that the world wants to buy. May hydrogen prosper.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald
dbraid@postmedia.com
Twitter: @DonBraid
Facebook: Don Braid Politics
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