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$156-Million for carbon-capture technology
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper, right, and Premier Ed Stelmach attend a press conference at Government House in Edmonton on Thursday. Photo credit: Greg Southam, The Journal |
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EDMONTON - Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Ed Stelmach hailed carbon-capture technology as a top climate-change solution Thursday, announcing a $155.9-million federal grant and a joint task force to study creation of a large-scale pipeline and storage network.
The new premier and Harper, both Conservative leaders striving to prove their green credentials with elections on the horizon, touted a technique that takes carbon dioxide normally released into the atmosphere and pumps it underground or into aging wells to help retrieve more oil or natural gas.
Harper and Stelmach both expressed their eagerness to use the technology to trap greenhouse gas from the oilsands, bitumen upgraders and coal-fired electricity plants.
The prime minister suggested wide use of the technology may not be feasible until 2010 or later, but said it has great potential to position Canada as a world leader in slashing climate-changing emissions.
"This is a dream that could truly change the world," Harper told reporters in Edmonton.
Carbon capture, also known as carbon sequestration, has already encouraged scientists and energy firms in smaller projects in central Alberta and Saskatchewan.
It is touted by industry as a way to keep expanding the oilsands and other energy production without pumping so much greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.
"All Canadians are looking for a balance between economic growth and environmental protection," Harper said. "Finding that balance is the fundamental challenge of our time."
Stelmach and his government have spoken enthusiastically this week about a $1.5-billion "carbon dioxide pipeline" to pump trapped greenhouse gas into aging wells.
By striking a federal-provincial panel rather than kick-starting an actual project with the federal grant money, they appear to be signalling that the innovation is far from being readily applied. Government sources have suggested that $1.5 billion is an outdated figure, and just a starting point.
Along with the carbon-emissions targets his government set for industry, Stelmach said an industry-led move towards carbon capture will let Alberta's economy grow while still protecting the environment, which is what Canadians want.
"They understand that Alberta is the engine that drives the national economy," he said.
Stelmach's government has committed no new money to carbon capture, and his spokesman said Thursday it's "premature" to consider when an expansion project might begin.
The task force will be chaired by Steve Snyder, CEO for electricity giant TransAlta, and has been asked to offer recommendations later this year. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the oil industry's lobbying voice, called the carbon-capture push "long overdue."
The $155.9-million pledge is also designed to go towards an Edmonton project that converts garbage into electricity and technology for cleaner coal-based power generation. The grant will not materialize if the federal budget doesn't pass this spring.
While some environmentalists have shown enthusiasm for carbon capture, many protest the use of taxpayers' money to help industry lower the amount of pollution it produces.
Hours before the announcement, the Sierra Club issued a news release deriding money for carbon-capture measures as an oil industry "subsidy."
The Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development has argued that carbon sequestration is a credible short-term solution, but does nothing to wean Canada off fossil fuels.
The idea also splits opposition parties. The NDP warns that carbon stored underground might not stay there, while Liberal Leader Kevin Taft is an advocate.
"Is it going to be a solution for all time? Probably not," Taft said. "But we need to begin finding solutions right away, and this is an obvious one."
Later Thursday, Harper delivered an election-style speech before more than 1,200 Conservatives at the Shaw Conference Centre, bashing federal Liberal Leader Stephane Dion as someone who would shut down Alberta's oilpatch.
