A new report says the federal government is providing billions of dollars in financial support for the fossil fuel industry, despite measures announced last year to limit subsidies.Workers lay pipe during construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in Abbotsford, B.C., in 2023. The project received $8 billion in loan guarantees last year, according to a new report.
Regardless of what term is used, the government's financial backing gives the fossil fuel industry an advantage over energy alternatives, said Paasha Mahdavi, an assistant professor of political science at University of California, Santa Barbara, and an expert in oil subsidies. Laura Cameron, a policy advisor for the International Institute for Sustainable Development, said the report shows "there is still far too much public money being invested in fossil fuels."
Asked for more details on their position, CAPP spokesperson Jay Averill said in a statement that oil and natural gas production in Canada is "subject to royalties and taxes from every level of government, working to the benefit of Canadians right across the country." Critics argue they undermine climate policies by distorting the market and delaying the transition to alternative technologies.More than a dozen Alberta oilsands facilities are emitting potentially harmful air pollutants at 20 to 64 times the rate reported to the government, according to new research published in the journal Science.