Canada is the only G7 country still emitting GHG emissions way above 1990 levels — 21% above. Compare that to the US, which is on par with its 1990 levels, the 27 EU countries that are 25% below their 1990 levels or the UK, whose emissions are 42% below 1990 levels, and it’s evident that Canada’s climate policy isn’t working.
Nova Scotia is a huge part of Canada’s climate change response. We have eight fossil fuel-driven generating stations (four coal, four fuel oil and two biomass) that need to be transitioned sooner rather than later, but this won’t happen until we can get more solar and wind generators on line. What would be even more sensible would be to have the Atlantic Loop in place so that all the Atlantic Provinces could be electrified by green energy.
Artist’s rendering of proposed Goldboro LNG Terminal (Source: Pieridae)
There are fossil fuel corporations that want Canadians to fund their projects while we are all trying to get off of fossil fuels. Pieridae, a majority Canadian-owned corporation based in Calgary is one of those companies. Pieridae’s stated plan is to pipe fracked gas from Alberta and Pennsylvania to Goldboro, Nova Scotia where it will be liquified and then transported to Europe for sale. Besides the absolutely enormous negative environmental consequences associated with this project, Peridae has no confirmed end price deal at the other end, which is just another flaw in this bizarre scheme. Pieridae CEO Alfred Sorensen has been trying to obtain financing for this $10 billion idea from almost anywhere he can, including the Canadian federal government, of which he is asking almost $1 billion.
The Nova Scotia Fracking Resource and Action Coalition says:
If this project were to go ahead, Nova Scotia’s greenhouse gas emission targets would be gone out the window.
In order for the Goldboro project to move ahead, Pieridae has petitioned the Province of Nova Scotia to re-route Hwy 316 around the proposed project site, mainly for “safety” reasons. NS Environment & Climate Change Minister Keith Irving recently agreed to this.
Former Environment Minister Gordon Wilson said making room for a large emitter such as a liquified natural gas plant would make meeting emission reduction targets “challenging,” but “overall, greenhouse gas emissions are coming down in Nova Scotia.” Yes, those emissions are coming down, but they’re coming down extremely slowly and thanks only to the wind and solar installations built in the last decade. They are definitely NOT coming down because of the decommissioning of fossil fuel-fired and biomass generating stations.
We will not be able to reach our national climate change goals if projects like Pieridae’s Goldboro LNG plant are even considered. This makes NO sense to me whatsoever, especially when very knowledgeable people within the energy and financial industry are viewing this idea as a boondoggle. The public needs to research the issue and understand the potential consequences of this decision and make their views well known to every politician in sight.
Paul Strome worked 12 years as an educator in the Northwest Territories/Nunavut where he experienced the culture, language and geographic parameters of Indigenous people. He has petitioned the government at every opportunity to bring about the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People. As an elder and David Suzuki Ambassador he has championed the Blue Dot Movement in Unama’ki (Cape Breton) and in recent years was the Atlantic regional representative for the Council of Canadians.
