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Push to protect planet North American free trade partners sign alternative energy agreement Gary Park For Petroleum News
The United States, Canada and Mexico — the big energy user in North America and its two leading suppliers — have moved another step closer to lowering trade barriers to cleaner, alternative energy development.
In a five-year pact signed July 23 in Victoria, British Columbia, the three partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement pledged cooperation to promote more energy-efficient technology, including joint research in areas such as nuclear energy and renewable fuels to bolster the continent’s energy security while protecting the environment.
U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said the agreement reaffirms the commitment to build a strong, unified energy market among the three countries.
“It represents another step ? we believe a major step ? toward enhancing global energy security and environmental protection,” he said.
Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn said the three governments understand the “importance of developing cleaner energy (along with) more efficient ways to produce it and use our conventional energy resources.”
Mexico’s Energy Secretary Georgina Kessel said the treaty opens the door to a wide range of initiatives “such as hydrogen and fuel cells, clean coal and carbon dioxide capture and storage, ethanol and biofuel production, small scale hydropower and energy efficiency technologies.”
Lunn said Canada’s push to exploit wind, solar, biomass and tidal power is part of its drive to achieve low or zero fossil-fuel emissions.
Canada to tackle standby power He said the federal government will introduce measures in 2008 and even tougher rules in 2010 to tackle so-called standby power — the energy that is wasted by appliances such as microwaves, TV sets and computers that are left on 24 hours a day.
He said the average Canadian home has 25 appliances that consume standby power. If all were turned off it would save between 5 and 10 percent of household electricity consumption, enough to power 400,000 homes.
Bodman said the U.S. is also making great strides in saving energy by promoting energy saving products.
But he left no doubt that fossil fuels will continue to meet the bulk of U.S. needs and made particular mention of rising output from the Alberta oil sands.
“We are very grateful for the contribution of Canada’s natural resources,” he said, mentioning his visit to the oil sands last year.
If oil sands production meets its forecast targets it will be a “big deal for our economy and markets,” Bodman said.
He said that although Canada and the United States are on the same page in tackling climate change, the challenge is to find ways of balancing economic growth and global warming.
Achieving the right balance is a “very formidable task. … Whatever happens you will damage economic growth because it’s going to cost something to remove carbon dioxide.”
“If you go too far you will destroy economic growth and, if you don’t go far enough, you won’t deal with the underlying issue of global warming,” Bodman said.
For that reason, he said the U.S. is not ready to set firm standards and goals.
“The idea of making what I perceive to be a rather arbitrary, difficult-to-measure, so-called firm commitment is not something we’re prepared to do at this time,” he said.
Canada, U.S. oppose subsidies Where Canada and the U.S. are in lock-step is rejecting any suggestion of indirect subsidies to advance the use of alternative, renewable fuel supplies.
Bodman and Lunn flatly rejected a suggestion by ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Officer James Mulva who urged the U.S. government to consider baseline pricing, such as $60 per barrel for oil, to create the fiscal certainty needed for the industry to pursue alternative fuels.
Lunn said his government will never take an active role in price setting, regardless of the objectives or its desire for price stability.
“I agree with him,” Bodman said in response to Lunn’s remarks.
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