Just under the surface of B.C. and Alberta, in a rock formation known as the Montney Play, lies enough potential greenhouse gases to blow past Canada’s 2030 emissions targets 30 times over.
It’s one of 12 fossil fuel reserves researchers in the journal Energy Policy have identified in Canada — called “carbon bombs” — that would each release a billion tonnes or more of carbon into the atmosphere if their resources were extracted and burned. This would be catastrophic for the world’s efforts to slow rising global temperatures, the authors argue.
But development in the Montney is set to ramp up in the next few years, and government subsidies for the natural gas industry mean many of these projects have been earmarked to make important contributions to the economy.
Kjell Kühne, the lead researcher on the paper and a director of Leave it in the Ground, an initiative aimed at stopping the extraction of fossil fuels, says Canada needs to find a way to stop these projects, or risk increasing our contribution to climate-related disasters.
“You are basically betting on humanity continuing to burn down the house at the same rate in order for you to make money, and that is a very risky bet,” he said.
A different approach
Kühne and others identified 425 “carbon bombs” around the world, and collectively, they would blow the carbon budget needed to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 C twice over.
Researchers measured the carbon dioxide emissions that would result if each country extracted and burned its largest fossil fuel reserves.
Thinking about these projects as “carbon bombs” includes the downstream emissions of actually burning the fuel, which is a better way of measuring climate impact than how the Canadian government tallies emissions, said Julia Levin, associate director of Environmental Defence, who was not involved in the research.
The Canadian government reports only carbon dioxide emitted in Canada. It does not count the greenhouse gas emissions produced when those fossil fuels are exported and burned somewhere else.
“It allows countries — big producers of oil and gas, like Canada — to completely abdicate climate responsibility for the oil and gas that we pull out of the ground,” said Levin.
To prevent catastrophic global temperature rise, Canada needs to “end production by 2034,” she said.
“The science is unequivocal.”
The Montney Play
Canada’s largest carbon bomb — and the sixth largest in the world — is the Montney Play.
The natural gas, which is mostly methane, is extracted by hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, a water-intensive process that leaks methane into the atmosphere.
Methane traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide while it’s in the atmosphere, and is responsible for about 30 per cent of the rise in global temperature since the industrial revolution, according to the International Energy Agency.
Methane, however, doesn’t stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide; around 12 years instead of centuries. This means preventing methane emissions is a potential emergency intervention to keep temperatures lower in the immediate future.
“Methane is responsible for half a degree of warming right now,” said Kühne. “Fracking is one of the worst things you can do in the midst of a climate emergency.”
New developments in the heart of the Montney had been halted since 2021 since the outcome of a B.C. Supreme Court case between the Government of B.C. and Blueberry River First Nations, whose traditional territory overlaps with a large swath of the formation. A judge ruled that the cumulative effects of resource development infringed upon their Treaty 8 rights.
An agreement reached between the First Nation and the province earlier this year means the First Nation has more control over what happens on their land.
That doesn’t mean extraction of natural gas in the area will stop. While companies are restricted in building new well pads in some areas, new wells can still be drilled on existing sites. The pads that already exist in the Montney are at about a quarter of their capacity, according to research by Allan Chapman in the Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection.
Natural gas is a major driver of the economy in northeastern British Columbia, provides thousands of jobs and is an important source of revenue for the province.
This is why Dan Davies, MLA for Peace River North and a member of the opposition B.C. Liberal Party, says it’s important for the industry to continue and even grow, because people still need it.
Workers are seen at the Shell multi-well pad for the Groundbirch natural gas plant outside of Fort St. John, B.C., in 2018. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)
Natural gas is what heats homes in the region through the frigid winters, he pointed out.
“It really is the heart of northeastern B.C., the oil and gas industry,” he said, adding that oil and gas royalties pay for important public services such as schools and hospitals.
Davies argues that natural gas from Canada can be an environmental win if it helps countries such as India and China get off coal. Natural gas does have lower emissions than coal, but switching from one fossil fuel to another will not result in the emissions reductions necessary to avoid a temperature increase of more than 1.5 C, according to the IEA.
Two of the other carbon bombs in Canada are natural gas formations, five are in Alberta’s oil sands, and three are metallurgical coal mines, meaning the coal is used for making steel and not for generating electricity.
Of the two remaining gas formations, extraction in the Liard Basin was suspended in 2021, according to the B.C. Energy Regulator.
Two of the three coal mines have yet to begin extraction.
Calgary-based Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. is invested in at least two of the projects, including the Montney Play. The company did not respond to multiple interview requests from CBC News.
‘A climate clown’
Levin and Kühne agree stopping these projects is important if Canada hopes to meet its climate goals.
But instead of stopping them, federal and provincial governments are subsidizing them.
The provincial governments of Alberta and British Columbia have provided more than $1 billion in subsidies to fossil fuel companies in the 2021-22 fiscal year, according to a report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.
Natural Resources Canada spokesperson Keean Nembhard told CBC News that the federal government is committed to ending “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies this year.
Asked which subsidies specifically have been deemed inefficient, Nembhard said there is no internationally agreed-upon list of inefficient subsidies, but that officials in the federal Department of Finance and Environment and Climate Change Canada are working on a tool to identify what this means in a Canadian context.
“To date, Canada’s efforts to reform inefficient fossil fuel subsidies have resulted in the phasing out or streamlining of nine tax measures that benefited the fossil fuel sector,” he said in a statement.
But Levin says the word “inefficient” is essentially meaningless in this context.
“Inefficient has no definition,” she said. “The word was used as a loophole to allow G20 countries to do whatever they wanted.”
Kühne says ending subsidies for fossil fuel projects is important to give the world a chance at curbing rising temperatures around the globe.
“The Canadian government is more a climate clown than a climate leader,” said Kühne. “It has the highest per capita emissions in the world and is giving subsidies to [the] fossil fuel industry.”
HOUSTON (AP) — Brian White scored in the second half to rally the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night.
Houston (12-9-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ponce’s third goal this season came after Amine Bassi drew a foul on Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite following a video review. It was Ponce’s sixth career appearance, all starts.
Vancouver (13-8-7) scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who entered in the 60th, used assists from Fafá Picault and Ryan Gauld to find the net for the 13th time this season. Picault’s assist was his fifth, matching his career high for a single season. Gauld’s assist gives him a career-best 13 on the season.
Yohei Takaoka, who had clean sheets in his last three starts, finished with one save in goal for the Whitecaps.
Steve Clark saved three shots for the Dynamo, who remain one point behind Vancouver in the Western Conference standings.
Houston, which was coming off a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, has allowed just 33 goals this season.
Vancouver — 6-2-2 in its last 10 matches overall — leads the all-time series 10-9-6.
The Whitecaps remain on the road to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Dynamo travel to play Austin FC on Saturday.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Pearce and Nathan Saliba scored in the second half — the first goals of their careers — and CF Montreal rallied for a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution on Wednesday night.
“In the second half, the guys came out a little more ambitious and above all, more connected,” Montreal head coach Laurent Courtois said. “It was a great second half of resilience and fighting spirit. Nathan and Sam were impressive.
“Impressive in covering the gaps and compensating for the teammates, and the individual defending – yes it’s true, it is a lot of weight on their shoulders, but that’s the job.”
New England (8-16-4) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on Bobby Wood’s third goal of the season. Teenage defender Peyton Miller notched his first assist in his fourth career start and sixth appearance and Carles Gil picked up his ninth of the season. Peyton, at 16 years, 315 days old, is the eighth youngest player in league history to record his first assist.
The Revolution took a two-goal lead in the 35th minute and held it through halftime when 19-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic took a pass from Gil and scored his third goal of the season and career in his first full season in the league. It was the 73rd regular-season assist in Gil’s career, tying him with Steve Ralston for the most in club history.
Montreal (7-12-10) pulled within a goal in the 54th minute when Pearce scored off a free kick after defender George Campbell drew a foul on New England’s Mark-Anthony Kaye. It was the first goal for Pearce in his third career start and fourth appearance.
“Playoffs are the goal. Maybe it wasn’t in the best form, but in the end, we are picking up a point,” Pearce said. “We came into this game confident, ready to play our own game. Everyone tries their best, whenever the players are called on, we are always ready, and we are always giving it our best.”
Montreal scored the equalizer in the 68th minute on the first career goal by Saliba, a 20-year-old midfielder. Saliba has made 34 starts and 48 appearances with Montreal in his two seasons in the league. Campbell snagged his second assist of the season and the third of his career.
“It’s an incredible feeling, it’s a goal I’ve been waiting for a long time. I’m extremely happy that I was able to score it and that it can help the team take this important point on the road,” Saliba said. “Pearce’s first goal gave us really good momentum and we kept up the pressure to go for a second goal. We got more solid defensively, and we came back ready after halftime, to push for these 3 points.”
Aljaz Ivacic finished with four saves in goal for the Revolution.
Jonathan Sirois stopped four shots for Montreal.
New England beat Montreal 5-0 on the road on Aug. 24.
New England leads the all-time series 16-13-4. Montreal improves to 5-8-2 on the road against the Revs.
The Revolution travel to take on Charlotte FC on Saturday. Montreal returns home to host the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adolis García hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, Cody Bradford pitched seven strong innings after the worst start of his career, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 on Wednesday night.
The win kept the defending World Series-champion Rangers alive in the AL West race, trailing first-place Houston by 10 games with 10 to play.
García launched an inside sinker over the left-field wall off Toronto starter Bowden Francis (8-5) after Wyatt Langford singled.
“He swings hard, he swings a lot,” Francis said of García. “I guess the velo was dropping during that time.”
Bradford (6-3) allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six.
The seven shutout innings are the most in a game during his two-year career. He was knocked out of his previous start after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and homers (three) in 3 2/3 innings in a 14-4 loss at Arizona.
“Throughout the week, you’ve got to try and digest what happened, see where I can make adjustments, whether it was just game plan went wrong or just poor execution, or a little bit of both,” Bradford said. “Then you flush it.”
Bradford was perfect through four innings before Alejandro Kirk opened the fifth with a smash back to the mound that caromed off Bradford’s left foot and rolled into right field for a single. It extended Kirk’s hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.
Spencer Horwitz’s double to left-center put runners on second and third with no outs before Bradford retired the next three batters.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider credited Bradford’s “deceptive fastball.”
“When you’re throwing 89, 92, you’ve got to have pretty good deception with that at this level,” Schneider said. “Kept us off balance.”
Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 31st save in 32 opportunities.
Francis, who took no-hitters into the ninth inning in two of his previous four starts, allowed a double to Marcus Semien, the Rangers’ first hitter of the game. He gave up five hits and one walk in six innings.
Francis has a 1.96 ERA in nine starts with 54 strikeouts and seven walks since being moved back into the starting rotation in late July.
“I don’t even want to get complacent, on cruise control,” Francis said. “Just keep attacking.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette was a late scratch with a right middle finger contusion suffered during infield practice. Schneider said the team will get back x-rays on Thursday. Bichette was activated Tuesday following a calf injury and played for the first time in two months, going 2 for 5 with one RBI at the plate. … INF Will Wagner (left knee inflammation) will have the knee scoped on Thursday. Schneider said Wagner should be ready to start spring training. Wagner, son of former major leaguer Billy Wagner, was acquired from Houston at the trade deadline.
UP NEXT
Rangers rookie RHP Kumar Rocker (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will make his home debut against Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (12-11, 4.02) in the series finale. Rocker allowed one run in four innings at Seattle last Thursday in his major league debut.
