Image Credit: Adrian Wyld | The Canadian Press
The Government of Manitoba’s celebration of Earth Day at the Legislature is contradicted and overshadowed by its ongoing campaign for a new fossil gas pipeline and export terminal through Hudson Bay. The nominal investments announced today, totalling less than $1 million, pale in comparison to the government’s support for the fossil fuels driving the crisis.
Last week, Premier Wab Kinew returned from Ottawa with a pledge from Prime Minister Carney to ship LNG from Churchill by 2030, despite the apparent lack of a private sector proponent. If this project were to move ahead, the lifecycle emissions resulting from Manitoba’s exports would dwarf any domestic reductions. Exporting LNG is extremely energy-intensive, increases methane leakage, venting, and flaring, and locks in enormous downstream emissions. Despite this, Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes defended the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure and the 2030 timeline, saying: “It’s an ambitious plan… but we believe we’re up for the challenge.”
Amidst the biggest global energy crisis on record – which has further exposed the high cost, price volatility, and insecurity of fossil fuels – the long-term rationale for a new pipeline does not add up. The war in Iran has clearly demonstrated the extreme vulnerability to fossil fuel supply and price shocks, leading some countries to accelerate the transition off of fossil gas. This trend will only continue in the coming years due to massive growth of solar, wind, and battery energy storage.
Meanwhile, costly and devastating climate impacts continue unchecked in Manitoba. Peguis and Fisher River First Nations are facing flooding and evacuations, while others anxiously look ahead to the pending wildfire season. While stacking sandbags last week, Premier Kinew said, “We’re past the era of predicting climate change. We’re now in the era of trying to mitigate and accommodate the impacts of global warming.” Ushering in new pipelines is entirely inconsistent with this reality.
Doubly ironic is the government’s continued failure to set a 2030 climate target. While the Province has said it is “up for the challenge” of expediting engagement, assessments, approvals, and construction of massive new fossil gas infrastructure by 2030, it has yet to apply this same sense of commitment and urgency to the climate crisis. The government’s funding of climate policies, including several small investments announced today, continue to pale in comparison to its backing for the Churchill LNG export plan and the proposed $3 billion gas-fired power plant in Brandon.
“Today’s Earth Day event rings hollow in the context of the government’s recent commitments to double down on fossil fuel expansion, locking in exports for decades to come,” said James Wilt, Policy Development Manager for CAT.
Media contact:
James Wilt, Policy Manager, Climate Action Team Manitoba
431-554-8223