Dear Editor,
While the world watches the Ukraine war with horror, the Canadian media, Conservatives and oil and gas lobbyists unleashed a reckless campaign for fossil fuel expansion.
They are advocating for increasing the global presence of Canadian fossil fuel to curb the supply deficit, specifically in the European Union (EU), amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War; such an economic strategy is unethical, misguided and dangerous.
Furthermore, this false narrative dominates the news that more Canadian fossil fuels will help Europe break up with Russian oil. Conservatives MPs even proposed a motion to ram through gas pipelines.
However, this isn’t about peace or energy security. It’s about lining the pockets of the oil and gas industry and its backers by profiteering from war.
And it’ll devastate our climate in the process. Considering the United States is courting Venezuela, Iran and Saudi Arabia to meet the surplus demand, Canada should focus on regional rather than international supply.
The European plan to adopt renewable sources underscores the significance of fast-track development.
With the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report attributing increased human suffering in the next two decades to expanding Canadian fossil fuel supply to the EU, this underscores the unethical practices of the gas and oil industry in the world.
Therefore, Canada should support the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) comprehensive initiative to reduce European countries’ reliance on Russian gas with renewable energy rather than offering substitutes.
Canada could help end the reliance on Russian oil and gas by putting people to work on the transition away from fossil fuels — but we need to counter the fossil fuel lobby’s media spin.
Jack Trovato
RICHMOND
