There is a winter spiritual tradition among the members of the Gitxaala Nation of taking a plunge into dark, swirling waters of the Pacific Ocean off Dolphin Island in northern British Columbia, their ancestral home for tens of thousands of years.

“Cold water baths is one of our ways. It feels like millions of needles hitting you at once when you jump into the ocean,” says Chief Clifford White, a hereditary leader and former elected chief councillor of the Gitxaala Nation. “If you don’t work with the elders to prepare for that, going into the water could induce a heart attack, shock, and even kill you.”

White, a board director with the First Nations LNG Alliance, sees parallels with the industry’s development in the region requiring the same kind of rigorous preparation, both in First Nations communities as well as head offices of resource companies and government regulators.

“Our settlement of Gitxaala is the oldest Nation on the coast and is surrounded by the pristine sea, so what happens in the ocean is very concerning for our members. We, as Gitxaala, still consider the ocean as our fridge. During the worst of the Great Depression, our community didn’t experience hunger,” says White of the settlement about 60 kilometres south of Prince Rupert and home to about 500 of the nation’s 2,000 members.

White sees the need to educate communities in the region about LNG development.

“Natural gas isn’t crude oil and it’s important people understand the difference in risks. We also need to think about protecting the environment globally as well as locally. Developing natural gas to displace coal, oil, wood, and other forms of energy with much bigger environmental impacts is a risk worth taking to help the world,” says White.

“And even within our communities, we need to look at the impact of burning wood or oil, which is far more harmful than using natural gas. That’s an education piece for our people, who have been used to using these types of fuels.”

White also has highlighted opportunities for members of the Gitxaala Nation and other Indigenous communities throughout the province.

“I see a real opportunity for our young people to get trained and work in monitoring, research and continuing our ancestral responsibility to ensuring the environment is protected. There are many opportunities to work, such as tugboat operators, environmental management, and as power engineers as projects begin operations,” White says.

“We have seen a lot of people come into the region from outside of B.C. to build this infrastructure and it’s important our people have the opportunity to participate in that activity as well as operations.”

White has spent a long time working to include First Nations in shaping policy decisions in British Columbia. He served as chair of the First Nations Advisory Committee for British Columbia, working with the provincial government to ensure First Nations are included in the key decisions that affect their territories.

“A good example of the work we did was with B.C. Infrastructure Benefits. When the provincial government built highways, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure in specific territories, it’s important to connect, collaborate and work with the First Nations in their respective areas for co-development and co-management,” White says.

“That wasn’t always a given. It was important to make sure First Nations have opportunities at procurement and employment for all major projects within their traditional territories. And it was also important to make sure the First Nations have the training to take advantage of those opportunities.”

His work has extended to a board role on the B.C. Industry Training Authority to work with companies and trade unions on Indigenous workforce development in the province.

White has also worked with the 26 Indigenous Skills, Employment and Training (ISETS), sponsored by the Indigenous Services Canada and supported by the provincial government. They have brought together unions, corporations and government to understand the roles and responsibilities of the ISETS and how they could partner with each other.

“Partnerships are critical for trades training and other academic opportunities. ISETS work directly with unions, colleges, universities, and [the British Columbia Institute of Technology] to ensure qualified and credible training is afforded to Indigenous peoples,” he says.

“We will need skilled trades, whether it’s to help build the LNG industry or critical infrastructure for our communities.”

Most importantly, White wants the legacy to include the environment that his ancestors have fished and hunted on for generations.

“Indigenous people, are the caretakers of this planet and we can be a part of making effective change,” he says. “For our children and our children yet to be born, it’s important to have these opportunities and to maintain the same pristine environment for them to at least the seven generations to come.”

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Alberta’s electrical grid is about to get a boost in reliability from a major new natural gas-fired power plant owned in part by Indigenous communities.  

Next month operations are scheduled to start at the Cascade Power Project, which will have enough capacity to supply more than eight per cent of Alberta’s energy needs.  

It’s good news in a province where just over one month ago an emergency alert suddenly blared on cell phones and other electronic devices warning residents to immediately reduce electricity use to avoid outages.  

“Living in an energy-rich province, we sometimes take electricity for granted,” says Chana Martineau, CEO of the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) and member of the Frog Lake First Nation.  

“Given much of the province was dealing with -40C weather at the time, that alert was a vivid reminder of the importance of having a reliable electrical grid.” 

Cascade Power was the first project to receive funding through the AIOC, the provincial corporation established in 2020 to provide loan guarantees for Indigenous groups seeking partnerships in major development projects. 

So far, the AIOC has underwritten more than $500 million in support. This year it has $3 billion available, up from $2 billion in 2023.  

In August 2020 it provided a $93 million loan guarantee to the Indigenous Communities Consortium — comprised of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, Enoch Cree Nation, Kehewin Cree Nation, O’Chiese First Nation, Paul First Nation, and Whitefish (Goodfish) Lake First Nation — to become equity owners. 

The 900-megawatt, $1.5-billion facility is scheduled to come online in March. 

“It’s personally gratifying for me to see how we moved from having Indigenous communities being seen as obstacles to partners in a generation,” says Martineau. 

The added capacity brought by Cascade is welcomed by the Alberta Electrical System Operator (AESO), which is responsible for the province’s electrical grid. =

“The AESO welcomes all new forms of generation into the Alberta marketplace, including renewables, thermal, storage, and others,” said Diane Kossman, a spokeswoman for the agency.  

“It is imperative that Alberta continue to have sufficient dispatchable generation to serve load during peak demand periods when other forms of generation are not able to contribute in a meaningful way.” 

The Cascade project also provides environmental benefits. It is a so-called “combined cycle” power facility, meaning it uses both a gas turbine and a steam turbine simultaneously to produce up to 50 per cent more electricity from the same amount of fuel than a traditional facility.  

Once complete, Cascade is expected to be the largest and most efficient combined cycle power plant in Alberta, producing 62 per cent less CO2 than a coal-fired power plant and 30 per cent less CO2 than a typical coal-to-gas conversion.  

“This project really is aligned with the goals of Indigenous communities on environmental performance,” says Martineau. 

The partnership behind the power plant includes Axium Infrastructure, DIF Capital Partners and Kineticor Resource Corp. along with the Indigenous Communities Consortium. 

The nations invested through a partnership with OPTrust, one of Canada’s largest pension funds.  

“Innovation is not just what we invest in, but it is also how we invest,” said James Davis, OPTrust’s chief investment officer. 

“The participation of six First Nations in the Cascade Power Project is a prime example of what is possible when investors, the government and local communities work together.” 

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Call it a CCS highway – a shared transportation and storage network that enables multiple industrial users to reduce emissions faster. 

So-called “hubs” or networks are becoming the leading development strategy for carbon capture and storage (CCS) as the world moves faster to fight climate change, according to the Global CCS Institute.  

Alberta, with its large industrial operations and more CO2 storage capacity than Norway, Korea, India, and double the entire Middle East, is an early leader in CCS hub development.  

“For Alberta, the concept of CCS hubs makes a lot of sense because you have many industry players that are trying to reduce their emissions, paired with beautiful geological opportunities beneath,” says Beth (Hardy) Valiaho, vice-president with the International CCS Knowledge Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan. 

Jarad Daniels, CEO of the Melbourne, Australia-based Global CCS Institute, says that historically, CCS would be a single project integrating a CO2 capture plant with dedicated CO2 compression, pipeline and storage systems.  

“Networks, where each entity typically operates only part of the full CCS value chain provide several benefits,” he says. 

“They reduce costs and commercial risk by allowing each company to remain focused on their core business.” 

The institute, which released its annual global status of CCS report in November, is now tracking more than 100 CCS hubs in development around the world. 

Alberta already has one, and Valiaho says it is a “perfect example” of what she likens to on and off-ramps on a CO2 highway.   

The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL) went into service in 2020 as a shared pipeline taking CO2 captured at two facilities in the Edmonton region to permanent underground storage in a depleted oil field.  

Map of the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line system. Courtesy Enhance Energy

So far ACTL has transported more than four million tonnes of CO2 to storage that would have otherwise been emitted to the atmosphere – the equivalent emissions of approximately 900,000 cars.  

ACTL was constructed with a “build it and they will come” mentality, Valiaho says. It has enough capacity to transport 14.6 million tonnes of CO2 per year but only uses 1.6 million tonnes of space per year today. 

The future-in-mind plan is working. A $1.6 billion net zero hydrogen complex being built by Air Products near Edmonton will have an on-ramp to ACTL when it is up and running later this year.  

Air Products will supply hydrogen to a new renewable diesel production plant being built by Imperial Oil. Three million tonnes of CO2 per year are to be captured at the complex and transported for storage by the ACTL Edmonton Connector.  

Hub projects like this are important globally, Daniels says, as CCS operations need to dramatically increase from 50 million tonnes of storage per year today to one billion tonnes by 2030 and 10 billion tonnes by 2050.  

“It’s clear the development of CCS networks and hubs is critical for achieving the multiple gigatonne levels of deployment all the climate math says is required by mid-century,” he says. 

Valiaho says Alberta is an encouraging jurisdiction to develop CCS hubs in part because the government owns the geological pore space where the CO2 is stored, rather than developers having to navigate dealing with multiple resource owners.  

“Alberta is a model for the world, and the fact that the government has declared crown ownership of the pore space is very interesting to a lot of international jurisdictions,” she says.  

There are 26 CCS storage project proposals under evaluation in Alberta that could be used as shared storage hubs in the future, including the project proposed by the Pathways Alliance of oil sands producers.  

If just six of these projects proceed, the Global CCS Institute says they could store a combined 50 million tonnes of CO2 per year, or the equivalent emissions of more than 11 million cars. 

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Dow Chemical’s Nov. 28 announcement confirming it will invest $8.8 billion to build a net zero petrochemical complex near Edmonton was close to a decade in the making for Fort Saskatchewan Mayor Gale Katchur. 

“Now that they’ve finally announced the project, I’m one of the happiest mayors around,” says Katchur, who was first elected in October 2010. 

“What Dow is building will inspire other industries with innovation and technology like this. Dow has been a cornerstone for our community for the past 60 years. This investment ensures they are going to be around for a lot longer.” 

The project, which has support from the municipal, provincial and federal governments, will increase Dow’s production of polyethylene, the most widely used plastic in the world. 

Welcomed by the community 

By capturing and storing carbon dioxide emissions and generating hydrogen on-site, the complex will be the world’s first ethylene cracker with net zero emissions from operations.  

“I remember speaking to Dow executives during their regional visit some years back. They were curious about potential public concerns, given the visibility of their visit and the nature of their business,” Katchur says. 

“My response was clear: the primary concern in our community is the pace of progress. People here recognize and appreciate the petrochemical industry. We understand the benefits that it brings.” 

Competitive advantages 

Katchur’s joy is shared by Mark Plamondon, executive director of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association, who sees the Michigan-based multinational’s decision as an endorsement of the region’s competitive advantages. 

“Dow is a global company and could put their capital anywhere in the world,” says Plamondon, whose group attracts global investment in heavy industry to the 582-square-kilometre region northeast of Edmonton.  

“What this demonstrates is Dow can meet both their economic and environmental goals by investing in this region. That sends a real message.” 

Bob Masterson, CEO of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada, sees Dow’s decision to build the facility as a signal of where the industry will make large investments in the future. 

“In the short term, you are looking at the province’s largest construction project requiring more than 7,000 high-skill, high-paying jobs for the next seven to 10 years,” says Masterson, whose Ottawa-based group represents chemistry and plastics producers across Canada.  

Alberta a top destination for low carbon chemical production 

“What Dow’s decision really says is Alberta is a top destination for the chemistry industry to invest. One of the top chemical producers in the world is making this investment in Canada,” he says. 

“When you look at the bigger picture, the only real rival for low-carbon investment of this kind is the U.S. Gulf Coast, where you have the same access to natural gas liquids as a feedstock and supportive public policy environment.” 

The Industrial Heartland region is particularly attractive for companies looking to invest in low-carbon products, Masterson says. 

“Alberta has an abundant low-carbon feedstock in natural gas liquids to produce hydrogen and the geological space to sequester carbon. These natural assets can encourage investment and support low-carbon chemistry industry,” he says.  

“One of the largest petrochemical companies on the planet believes it can build a low-carbon chemistry plant based on these assets. Other companies will see they can generate and extract that value out of those resources in a very sustainable and responsible manner.” 

Filling space on the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line 

In addition to geological and natural resources, the region already possesses critical infrastructure to woo investment in low-carbon production, such as the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL), the world’s largest CO2 pipeline.  

Dow has signed an agreement with ACTL owner Wolf Midstream to utilize space on the system.  

ACTL is the foundation of a hub that captures CO2 from an oil refinery and fertilizer plant and moves it for permanent storage in a nearby depleted oil field.  

The pipeline currently transports 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 per year but is built to transport 14.6 million tonnes of CO2 per year.  

“The infrastructure is in place already. The trunk line has plenty of surplus capacity to transport additional emissions,” Plamondon says.  

“That just adds to the value proposition for potential facilities that are moving to low-carbon production.” 

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In almost 20 years of researching how to safely capture and store carbon dioxide, Katherine Romanak has learned to distill that hard-earned knowledge into a simple message. 

“The industry is very safe and has demonstrated as such,” says Romanak, a senior research scientist at the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin. 

She has worked on carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects around the world including Quest in Alberta and Weyburn-Midale in Saskatchewan.  

“CO2 in the air is way more dangerous for us than CO2 in the ground…The problem is most people are not exposed to [CCS] so they can’t see risk other than in terms of potential disasters and destruction,” Romanak says.  

“They view carbon dioxide as pollution and don’t want it in the ground. I tell them, you are drinking carbon dioxide when you drink cola. It’s a natural part of our world. There’s just too much of it in the air and we need to take it out of the active carbon cycle.” 

Romanak is bringing that straight talk to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as COP28, in Dubai.  

Ahead of the conference, some environmental activists are lobbying to sideline CCS as a solution to meet climate targets. This tactic puzzles Romanak. 

“This defies reality and hurts the climate,” she says. 

“It will take decades, if not centuries, to wean ourselves off oil and gas and we need to stop emissions now. To do that, you need to expand CCS, not stop it.” 

Romanak sees COP28 as a crucial venue in the battle for ideas and investment. 

“Capturing and storing CO2 underground is not a new technology. We’ve been doing it for 50 years. But we are now in the phase where we are upscaling the technology,” she says.  

CCS projects around the world today have the capacity to store about 50 million tonnes of CO2 per year. To meet climate targets, that needs to grow significantly. 

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Energy Agency and others, by 2030 the world needs CCS to store one gigatonne of CO2 per year, rising to 10 gigatonnes by 2050.  

The United States and Canada have the largest number of planned CCS projects in development, according to the Global CCS Institute.  

Beth (Hardy) Valiaho of the International CCS Knowledge Centre said extensive monitoring in Canada shows the industry hasn’t experienced any major safety incidents.  

“We know it’s safe because we know exactly where all the CO2 is,” says Valiaho, the centre’s vice-president of policy, regulatory and stakeholder relations.  

But the industry’s track record isn’t always understood, particularly in regions where new CCS projects are proposed. Even in Canada, where CCS has safely operated for more than two decades, new projects require extensive information sharing.  

Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland, whose community is near a proposed carbon storage site in the proposed Pathways Alliance CCS network in northeastern Alberta, came away impressed after attending open houses put on by the project. 

“I didn’t know much about it, but the companies involved in the project made experts and scientists available who were able to explain how it worked and answer all the questions that were put to them,” says Copeland, who has served as mayor for 16 years.  

“We are very familiar with oil and gas as most of the major companies operate in the region and so we have a real understanding of the industry’s culture around safety and how that’s evolved. I have no concerns. There’s a lot of smart people working on this. We have the expertise in Alberta and have demonstrated we can capture and store CO2 safely.” 

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Billy Morin, former chief of the Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta, is in Dubai for the COP28 climate conference to proclaim Canada’s “Indigenous Advantage” in carbon capture and storage (CCS). 

“It’s an advantage Canada has come to recognize, whether you are an investment banker on Bay Street or one of the major oil sands companies operating in Fort McMurray. There’s a real benefit gained by involving Indigenous communities and people in your project,” says Morin, managing director with Axxcelus Capital Advisory, which specializes in facilitating equity ownership for Indigenous nations in large energy infrastructure projects.  

“For everybody to win, CCS will require Indigenous involvement…This is a good story to share at COP28 that will make a difference with the rest of the world when it comes to Indigenous involvement in CCS and development of other natural resources.” 

Partnering on CCS 

Industry’s willingness to engage with Indigenous communities on CCS is evident in major deals reached for equity partnerships for new projects in the Edmonton region.  

Last year Enbridge signed an agreement with four Treaty 6 First Nations to partner on the proposed Open Access Wabamun Carbon Hub. The deal also includes a provision for the Lac St. Anne Métis Community to join in future CCUS development.  

Meanwhile, Wolf Midstream and Whitecap Resources signed a similar agreement with those same four Treaty 6 communities – the Alexander First Nation, Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nation, Enoch Cree First Nation and Paul First Nation – on a separate CCS hub in the same region.  

A catalyst for those agreements was the Alberta government’s decision to include Indigenous participation as part of its scoring process for new CCS project proposals. 

The province expects proponents to describe benefits for Indigenous communities such as partnerships, skills training, employment and business development.  

Inside the Quest CCS project at Shell’s Scotford Refinery near Edmonton. Photo courtesy Shell Canada

Growing CCS 

CCS facilities around the world today have the capacity to store about 50 million tonnes of CO2 per year. 

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Energy Agency and others, to meet climate targets by 2030 the world needs CCS to store one gigatonne of CO2 per year, rising to 10 gigatonnes by 2050.

Morin says success in Canada – particularly in terms of Indigenous engagement – can help other countries deploy the technology.  

“Big companies looking at projects in Africa, Asia or Australia, which has a large Indigenous population as well as opportunities with LNG and CCS, can look to the model we have developed in Canada,” he says. 

“We can create energy and jobs while allowing businesses to make a profit and, at the same time, not have the concerns of Indigenous people or problems with development swept under the rug. That won’t happen anymore.” 

CCS a blank slate for opportunities 

Over in Saskatchewan, John Desjarlais, the executive director of the Indigenous Resource Network, shares Morin’s optimism about the industry’s early successes and its potential for Indigenous communities. 

“We’ve established a good foundation that can be built on and there’s a lot of potential with CCS,” he says. 

“It aligns with our expectation as a society, as well as Indigenous views on land-use stewardship. It takes a long-term view of energy production, which is also important.”  

Desjarlais, a professional engineer and member of the Nehinaw Cree Métis community, is intrigued because CCS is a new industry, a blank canvas on which benefits can be created for Indigenous communities. 

“We do have models for Indigenous engagement and involvement in other industries that CCS projects should adopt, such as uranium mining in northern Saskatchewan or what oil sands operators have done in northeastern Alberta,” he says.  

John Desjarlais, executive director of the Indigenous Resource Network in Bragg Creek, Alta. Photo by Dave Chidley for the Canadian Energy Centre

A promising start 

Morin also sees room for more dialogue about protecting treaty rights with the regulatory regime governing CCS in Canada in its early stages. 

“Both the Alberta government and Alberta Energy Regulator are committed to working with us, but we have to get it right the first time. It’s not going to be easy but anything worth doing is hard,” he says. 

Morin sees the reward of having those difficult conservations as coming to world events such as COP28 with a clear message. 

“This builds on a promising start,” he says.  

“Indigenous involvement ensures everybody wins – communities, business, governments and the natural world around us that we are seeking to protect.” 

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Canada may be a leader in carbon capture and storage, but Beth (Hardy) Valiaho isn’t going to the COP28 summit in Dubai to brag.  

The vice-president of policy, regulatory and stakeholder relations for the International CCS Knowledge Centre based in Regina, Saskatchewan, says Canada’s role is to share the experience of how to successfully deploy CCS so it can be used to reduce emissions on a global scale.  

“The value of taking the Canadian story to COP is being able to communicate how you can help these other countries,” Valiaho says.  

“I think COP gives us a reason to reflect on the impact we can have globally. Our ability to take lessons learned and bring them to these other countries cannot be overlooked.” 

Canada is one of only a few regions in the world to have large-scale CCS operations.  

Since 2000, projects in Saskatchewan and Alberta have safely stored more than 52 million tonnes of CO2 that would have otherwise been emitted into the atmosphere.  

These include the world’s first CCS facility on a coal-fired power plant at SaskPower’s Boundary Dam power station, and the largest-capacity CO2 pipeline on the planet, the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line. 

The CO2 is captured from a variety of sources including coal power generation, oil processing, and fertilizer production, and transported by pipeline for permanent storage deep underground.  

CCS development in Canada is accelerating. In Alberta, construction is well underway by Air Products on a new $1.6 billion net zero hydrogen complex using CCS that will support renewable diesel production.  

Dow Chemical has announced it will proceed with a new $6.5 billion net zero petrochemical plant that will incorporate CCS to remove emissions while producing the base materials for everyday items like packaging and hygiene products. 

Capital Power announced last December a limited notice to proceed for its $2.3 billion Genesee CCS project, and Heidelberg Materials continues to advance the world’s first CCS project on a cement plant in Edmonton.  

And through the Pathways Alliance, the oil sands industry is advancing environmental assessments, early-stage engineering work and stakeholder engagement that is necessary to receive permits for construction for one of the world’s largest CCS projects. 

Valiaho says the varied experience of carbon capture operations, as well as the regulatory and funding mechanisms that support development in Canada, is critically important as industries around the world seek to incorporate CCS.  

Beth (Hardy) Valiaho, vice-president of policy, regulatory and stakeholder relations with the International CCS Knowledge Centre. Photo by Dave Chidley for the Canadian Energy Centre

“It’s not just plugging in a technology. Every situation is unique and different,” she says.  

“Those are invaluable lessons that we can share that make or break these projects going forward.” 

Dubai is the seventh COP for Valiaho, who holds a master’s degree in climate change law and is the former acting director of climate change for the government of Saskatchewan.  

At the event, expected to draw up to 70,000 people from around the world, the Knowledge Centre is co-hosting the official side event on CCS, along with several other panel discussions that will explore a wide range of CCS topics. 

“What I encourage is that we have this global view at COP as opposed to how are we meeting Canada’s targets. This is also very key and an important thing that journalists and Canadians are very focused on, but there’s a bigger message that can be delivered,” Valiaho says.  

She says CCS development supports so-called intergenerational equity. 

“It’s about giving rights to people in the future who are not here today to defend themselves, which is really similar to the Indigenous Seven Generations principle,” says Valiaho, who grew up in Newfoundland and has a strong connection to the environment through her Indigenous heritage. 

“[CCS] relates to the transition of trying to figure out how to make solutions for the future. We can’t just shut everything down today. There’s a long lead time required for CCS development and there are important social and economic aspects for communities that we need to consider in all of this.” 

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In the middle of rolling central Alberta farmland just a few minutes’ drive northeast of Red Deer, a solitary pumpjack sits in the middle of a grain field. But rather than extracting oil, this well pumps important data on the geology underneath the field and the permanently stored carbon it holds. 

Enhance Energy, one of Canada’s first carbon management companies, is using that data to help it advance its carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) operations.  

For Candice Paton, Enhance’s vice-president of corporate affairs, that repurposed pumpjack, covered with instruments to provide information about the formation beneath it, represents how Canada can maintain its leadership in the burgeoning CCUS industry. 

“Canada was at the forefront of this industry when Enhance Energy was formed in 2008.  We are still leaders in this space and there are things we can learn from others,” says Paton.  

“Continuing to do CCUS right ensures Canadians will continue to thrive with our economy and climate.” 

Since 2000, carbon capture and storage projects in Canada (including Enhance Energy’s operation at the end of the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line) have sequestered more than 48 million tonnes of CO2, or the equivalent of taking more than 10 million cars off the road.  

Canada’s early leadership in the industry stems from early regulatory clarity and clear rules on pore space, the underground formations used to store captured carbon emissions, Paton says. 

 The Alberta government treats pore spaces as Crown assets, allowing companies that want to sequester carbon in the province to deal directly with the government rather than individual landowners, as is the case in other countries. 

Alberta’s management of pore spaces is also designed to provide benefits for Indigenous partnerships. 

“Right off the hop, you are welcome at the ownership table. Now let’s go to work,” says Chief Billy Morin, managing director of Axxcellus Capital and former chief of the Enoch Cree Nation.  

“It’s not a silver bullet in terms of consultation in getting the project off the ground but it does change the responsibility for First Nations to look for solutions as opposed to just saying ‘no.’” 

The Nation is one of four Indigenous communities partnered with Enbridge on the proposed Open Access Wabamun Carbon Hub. 

Canadian CCUS operators also have operational experience from the early projects that is valued by other countries. 

For example, Norway’s Northern Lights project incorporates learnings from the Quest project in central Alberta.   

“[Another] great example is the Geological Survey of Denmark came to Enhance’s sequestration facility at Clive to learn from us,” says Paton.  

“How do we manage this safely hand in hand with landowners and the regulator? How do we manage our measurement monitoring verification system so we can provide confidence to the public as well as the landowners, regulator and our customers in industry?” 

But Canada can also take some lessons from other countries developing their own CCUS industry. The federal government’s CCUS investment tax credit is in sharp contrast to the steps taken by governments in the United States and Europe, she says. 

“The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act was put in place quickly and clearly. And it really pushed companies to get across the final investment decision line,” Paton says.  

“Canada has worked on an investment tax credit to balance incentives to keep projects here, but we have a long way to go before it’s in place. It’s been under discussion for a very long time, and it excludes technologies that would act as stepping stones to even better technologies.” 

Morin shares concerns about the federal government’s delay in implementing a tax credit but has worked to find other avenues to help bring financing to projects. 

“We are looking for certainty out of Ottawa in terms of incentives. When international companies come here to invest in CCUS, the margins are thin so some level of government support is needed,” he says.  

The governments of Canada and Alberta have previously supported CCUS projects. Alberta is investing $1.24 billion for up to 15 years in the Quest and Alberta Carbon Trunk Line projects. 

Despite some challenges, both Paton and Morin are positive about the future of CCUS and Canada’s role as a major player. 

“I’m optimistic we can do this right, and it will benefit all of us as Canadians,” Morin says. “We have some specifics to work on, but we are headed in the right direction.”  

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Canada should work with its allies and potential customers to receive credit for the global emissions reduction benefits of exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), says a prominent Canadian energy advocate.  

The equivalent of all Canadian GHG emissions could be eliminated by helping Asia switch 20 per cent of its coal fired power stations to natural gas, says Shannon Joseph, chair of Energy for a Secure Future, citing a recent report published by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.  

“Canada could help deliver 680 megatonnes of emissions reductions, and that’s more than our whole country,” she says.  

“We should do it and shout it from the rooftops. We should move forward with LNG as an energy and emission solution.” 

Receiving credit for lowering emissions with LNG could come through what’s known as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, but Joseph says Canada need not wait for these carbon accounting rules to be settled before pressing forward.  

“We need to assert, confidently, the environmental value we would be delivering to the world,” she says.  

Shannon Joseph, chair of Energy for a Secure Future. Photo by Dave Chidley for the Canadian Energy Centre

Article 6 conceptually allows countries to collaborate with each other on emissions reduction goals by trading carbon credits. In theory, for example that could allow Canada receive credit for emissions reductions achieved in China by using Canadian LNG to displace coal.   

The Paris Agreement signatories have not yet agreed on the rules to make Article 6 a reality. Meanwhile, driven by Asia, last year the world consumed more coal – and produced more emissions from that coal – than ever before, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).   

The IEA says switching from coal to natural gas for electricity generation reduces emissions by half on average. LNG from Canada can deliver an even bigger decrease, reducing emissions by up to 62 per cent, according to a June 2020 study published in the Journal for Cleaner Production.   

Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, world LNG demand was expected to nearly double by 2040. The market has become even tighter as countries work to exclude Russian energy, says a report by Energy for a Secure Future.   

Japan and South Korea, as well as Germany have asked Canada to step up LNG development to help mitigate the energy crisis.   

With or without Article 6, Energy for a Secure Future is calling on Canada to work with its potential customers in Europe and Asia to recognize and credit the environmental benefits of Canadian LNG displacing higher emitting energy.   

“Canada’s allies have come here asking for energy, and we should work directly with them to find a way to have our environmental contributions recognized,” says Joseph, adding the U.S. has moved ahead without credits, more than doubling LNG exports since 2019.  

Canada has yet to export significant volumes of LNG after years of regulatory delay and cancelled projects – but things are changing.  

LNG Canada in Kitimat B.C. will be the first major export facility to operate, starting in 2025. Woodfibre LNG near Squamish begins construction this fall with the aim to start operating in 2027. Other proposed projects include the Indigenous-led Cedar LNG facility in Kitimat and Ksi Lisims LNG near Prince Rupert.  

LNG Canada CEO Jason Klein stands atop a receiving platform overlooking LNG processing units called trains that are used to convert natural gas into liquefied natural gas at the LNG Canada export terminal under construction, in Kitimat, B.C., on Wednesday, September 28, 2022. CP Images photo

Meanwhile, India, China and Japan remain consumers of Russian oil and gas, according to the 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy.  

“We are trying to help our allies meet the challenges they are facing. One of these is ensuring that their populations – sometimes of over a billion people – can even access modern forms of energy,” Joseph says.  

“If Canada wants to be relevant and to lead, we have to come to the table with solutions to this question, alongside the environmental one. LNG is our biggest card.”  

India will have the world’s largest population by 2028 – climbing to 1.45 billion and rising to 1.67 billion people by 2040, according to the United Nations Population Fund.  

“Currently India is the fourth largest importer of LNG [in the world] and demand is expected to grow massively as 270 million people move up the socioeconomic ladder,” says Victor Thomas, CEO of the Canada-India Business Council. 

Canada’s potential to deliver LNG to India “just makes good sense when you look at the geopolitical fractures that have occurred since 2022,” he says, noting the U.S. has recognized the opportunity and is taking action to form new business relationships in India.  

Burning wood and other biomass for heat and cooking is still common in the South Asian country, while coal produces around three quarters of India’s electricity. According to the IEA, by 2040 India’s total energy demand will be 70 per cent higher than it was in 2019.    

“Transitioning from wood burning to LNG is a massive emissions reduction,” says Thomas. “It’s a safe and reliable opportunity. People are looking for a country like Canada to be able to provide that.”  

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As global oil demand rockets to record highs, new analysis shows that supply from Canada’s oil sands is on track to continue rising. And much of that growth could come with a lower emissions footprint.  

For the first time in more than five years, analysts with S&P Global have increased their outlook for oil sands production, predicting it will reach 3.7 million barrels per day by 2030 – about half a million barrels per day higher than today.  

The Alberta Energy Regulator sees oil sands production rising even higher, reaching 3.9 million barrels per day in 2030, according to its latest outlook.  

But growth now in the world’s third-largest oil deposit is different than in the past. Oil sands producers aren’t building big multibillion-dollar new facilities anymore. They’re using their existing projects to produce more oil, and often that means reduced emissions per barrel because of improved efficiency.  

S&P Global vice-president Kevin Birn calls it “an era of optimization.”  

“They’re looking at ways to optimize the things they have, and in doing so squeezing the production higher, lowering unit cost and in the process often carbon intensity,” he says.  

Era of optimization 

For example, improving efficiency can allow operators to drill more wells without having to generate more steam for injection into the reservoir. This added production tends to come without significantly higher emissions.  

“The absolute emissions associated with that production are roughly the same. They’re just getting more oil,” Birn says.  

“That’s not always the case, but it’s generally the case because they’re leveraging their existing capacity.” 

An oil sands increase of 500,000 barrels per day in less than 10 years may seem large, but not compared to the past pace of growth. In the decade between 2010 and 2020 production increased by 1.3 million barrels per day, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. 

On pace for emissions reduction 

Slower growth means the success the industry has achieved in reducing emissions per barrel is likely to catch up and start bringing total emissions down as well, Birn says. A 2022 report by IHS Markit (now part of S&P Global) predicted peak oil sands emissions around 2025.  

The downward trajectory is also seen by Kendall Dilling, president of the Pathways Alliance, a group of companies representing about 95 per cent of oil sands production.  

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, in 2021 total oil sands emissions were 85 megatonnes, a two per cent increase from 83 megatonnes in 2019, before the COVID pandemic roiled world oil markets. Since 2000, oil sands emissions per barrel have decreased by 29 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.  

“A lot of the criticism of the GHG emissions from oil sands in the past was that they were on an absolute basis growing because we kept growing production. Our emissions per barrel have decreased about something on the order of 30 per cent over the last couple of decades, but that was always outpaced by growth of production,” Dilling says.  

“Now with production having more or less flattened out, and us continuing to do all that good improvement and efficiency work, we’ve hit that inflection point where the trajectory is coming down. The kind of stuff we’re trying to do at Pathways is really about putting that on steroids and dropping it much, much quicker.” 

The six companies in the Pathways Alliance have set a joint target to reduce total emissions from operations by 22 million tonnes by 2030, on the way to net zero emissions from operations by 2050. The anchor of the plan is building one of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.  

Global oil demand 

Global oil demand is set to hit a record 102 million barrels per day this year and reach 106 million barrels per day in 2028, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest short-term outlook. 

The added oil sands production will help meet demand, Birn says.  

“The reality is although we’re selling more and more electric vehicles — which will impact oil demand over the longer-term — the existing fleet remains dominated by the internal combustion engine, and will continue to support demand for these commodities,” he says, adding much of the demand growth is driven by China. 

“This points to the fact more oil will be required, not only to meet demand growth that is expected, but also to offset production declines expected around the world.” 

Running almost indefinitely 

Longer term, the IEA projects that in 2050 global oil demand will still be above 100 million barrels per day. Even in the agency’s scenario where the world achieves net zero by 2050, oil and gas will still supply about 20 per cent of energy needs.  

“Even the IEA’s most aggressive net zero scenarios still show significant oil and gas demand in 2050 because you can only transition so quickly,” Dilling says.  

“There’s a tail end of that that never goes away because there’s non combustion end uses altogether for heavy oil like asphalt and petrochemical feedstock and carbon fibre. The planet is better off if that need is filled by decarbonized, highly responsibly produced Canadian oil.” 

In the oil sands, he says, “you can basically run almost indefinitely because there’s so much resource that you have very little exploration risk. You know the oil is there. It almost becomes more of a manufacturing business at that point, and you just get better and better at it.” 

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