"This is an issue that takes up a lot of my time on a daily basis," Pourbaix said at the
"What happened over the last several years was I think there was a lot of ambition that we could really move this (energy) transition along very fast," Pourbaix said. "And I think we're finding out that this is a many, many decade transition — and it's probably going to look more like diversification than it is like transition."
Pourbaix said the current energy crisis has proven that oil and gas can't easily or quickly be replaced by wind and solar. He said instead of a phase-out of fossil fuels, the next three decades are likely to feature a diverse energy mix that includes oil and gas but also hydrogen, renewables and nuclear power.
"We’re now seeing that whatever is done on ESG has to be coordinated with energy security in order to avoid the challenges or worse that we’re seeing right now as a result of scarcity of oil and gas," he said.
But in spite of concerns about global energy supply,
As part of the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero consortium, Cenovus has pledged alongside five other major producers to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from oilsands operations by 2050. The group has proposed to work together on a project that would capture CO2 from oilsands facilities and transport it to a storage facility near
The group has not yet pulled the trigger to go ahead with the project, though Pourbaix said the investment tax credit for carbon capture and storage projects unveiled by the federal government earlier this year is an important step.
Pourbaix has also previously stated that the tax credit — which would cover 50 per cent of the capital cost for most types of carbon capture projects — isn't enough, and that additional government support will be necessary to fund the "multi-billion dollar" technology.
On Tuesday, Alberta Energy Minister
But she said selling the
"It’s difficult for the province — and I imagine it’s difficult for the public — to understand, when they’re making that much money and they’re using some of their proceeds to pay out dividends, buy back shares and pay back debt and not reinvesting it into the province and CCUS," Savage said.
She added from the
"We all want to get to net zero. They need to get to net zero," Savage said. "So the sooner the better."
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