Blog

As the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, departs Canada after his first official visit to the country, there are concerns that the Canadian gas industry is trying to exploit the Ukraine war to sell LNG European countries, including Germany.

We are now one hundred and ten days since the start of Vladimir Putin’s bloody brutal war on Ukraine. Since the invasion the global energy market has been largely turned on its head, as old certainties of supply have been ripped up.

Last year the world’s leading climate scientists, the IPCC,  issued a “code red” for humanity and outlined how we had to stop oil and gas drilling if we wanted a liveable future. But still we drill. Take three countries who like to see themselves as climate leaders...

Despite the need to rapidly wind-down fossil fuels to avert the worst of the climate crisis, governments worldwide continue to prop up fossil fuel production with huge sums of public money. They may be breaking international law.

Rich countries at this week’s Climate Summit need to take decisive action to stop the expansion of oil and gas production, both at home and abroad, both to protect the global climate and local communities. True climate leadership means breaking away from destructive oil and gas and investing in real solutions and green jobs that will help people and the planet thrive.

Tomorrow evening, our colleagues at PlatformLondon will be hosting an online global arts event in collaboration with MOSOP (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People), Shake! And Virtual Migrants, to not only celebrate the Ogoni 9, but also for people to hear from other frontline environmental defenders from key battles against the oil industry. It promises to be an inspirational evening.

Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada’s government-backed export credit agency, has long been one of the worst in the world when it comes to backing the fossil fuel industry with public money. Their new climate policy opens the door for meaningful change, but the initial targets are far too weak to get the job done.

With the health and livelihoods of billions at risk from COVID-19, governments around the world are preparing historic levels of stimulus finance. Building a Just Recovery that avoids the worst of climate change means overhauling our public finance institutions fast.

The Canadian Green Party's parliamentary leader, Elizabeth May, said last week: "My heart bleeds for people who believe the sector is going to come back. It's not. Oil is dead and for people in the sector, it's very important there be just transition funds."

It would make a great April Fools joke. Investing $5 billion in a product that is nearly worthless in the middle of a global pandemic, which puts communities and construction workers at risk. Make sense to you? No, of course it doesn’t. You would reply: “Don’t be so stupid! That must be a joke.”