Canadian oilpatch ‘confident’ IEA will alter dire warning on oil and gas once emissions tech gains ground – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – May 19, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

Reaching net zero by 2050 while achieving net economic growth is plausible, but would require drastic immediate changes

A new report by the International Energy Agency warns that the energy sector will need to shelve investments in new oil, natural gas and coal projects if the world is to reach net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 — a recommendation that could lead to a path that would have significant consequences for Canada’s fossil fuels industry.

Reaching net zero by 2050 while achieving net economic growth is plausible, according to the IEA report released Tuesday, but would require drastic immediate changes, and will require immediate and massive deployment of all available clean and efficient energy technologies.

“I think it would be an error for oil and gas and the Canadian energy industry to ignore the changes that are coming,” said Tristan Goodman, president of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, a lobbying group for oil and gas.

But Goodman said it’s up to the government to set policies and industry to respond, and he argued that the industry is well-positioned for the future.

He noted the report calls for no new oil “fields,” but said in his view this doesn’t necessarily preclude incremental expansions, and that Canada has already been moving in this direction.

For the rest of this column: https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/oil-gas/canadian-oilpatch-confident-iea-will-alter-dire-warning-on-oil-and-gas-once-emissions-tech-gains-ground