|
Biden, Trudeau reset relations, tackle climate change, energy pact
Gary Park for Petroleum News
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems wedded to the idea that he should proceed down the energy aisle, arm-in-arm with President Joe Biden.
It’s now apparent that Trudeau is ready to give up what he views as a no-win fight with Biden over the new president’s sinking of Keystone XL and trade that for an aggressive pursuit of a comprehensive North American energy strategy.
Dominating the promise of a return to the good-old-days of harmonious U.S.-Canada relations, after four years of chaos under Donald Trump, is a move to green energy, starting with a pledge they reached on Feb. 23 to collaborate a renewable future.
That framework includes joint efforts to manufacture electric vehicles, supply critical minerals needed to make batteries for cars and accelerate the development of other clean/green technologies.
“The integration of our economies, of our supply chains … I think gives a real opportunity to take a leap forward,” Trudeau said after an hour-long “virtual” meeting with Biden, who chose Trudeau for his first “face-to-face meeting” with another foreign leader.
Rare-earth minerals Trudeau noted that Canada has many of the rare-earth minerals needed for batteries and solar panels, assuring the U.S. that it has a “secure supply for a friend and ally.”
Until now, China has been the main source of critical minerals for the U.S., but Biden is reportedly poised to conduct a review of those supply sources.
Canada’s mineral wealth “is part of why so many automakers are looking at setting up their (vital supply chains) to build zero-emission vehicles in Canada,” Trudeau said.
General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis (a multinational automotive manufacturer) have all announced plans to manufacture new-age vehicles in Canada.
Trudeau said the auto industry has already invested about C$6 billion in Canada in zero-emission or low-emission vehicles.
“There’s a lot of really great opportunities to develop partnerships and production facilities, not just for the North American market, but for the world,” Trudeau claimed.
“The president and I discussed an ambitious new partnership roadmap (towards cleaner energy), based on shared values and priorities, that will guide our work together over coming years … this is our moment to act,” Trudeau said.
Concern from history But countless Canadian energy leaders can point to a long history of hopes raised and hopes dashed in their dealings with the U.S.
Biden said the United States return to the Paris climate accord gives the U.S. and Canada a chance to “spur other countries to raise their own ambitions.”
Jim Carr, a member of Trudeau’s cabinet, said he was minister of natural resources when the Obama administration cancelled Keystone XL, making Biden’s cancellation of the pipeline a “deep disappointment.”
“We have to look forward, however, to a continental energy strategy,” he said.
A read out of discussions between the two leaders indicated Trudeau did nothing more than express his concern over Biden’s burial of Keystone XL without any prior consultations.
Continental energy The prospect of moving in a continental energy direction had previously been advocated by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, who noted that the U.S. and Canada share a highly integrated industry, including a network of oil and gas pipelines and electricity transmissions system.
In fact, a continental pact was a talking point for 15 years at multiple trilateral meetings, including Mexico, ending with consensus, but seldom any measurable outcomes.
Five years ago the three countries agreed to collaborate on energy technologies, energy efficiency, carbon capture and emissions reduction, but the surge in shale oil and gas development in the U.S. overpowered any U.S. desire to work on other energy initiatives.
Monica Gattinger, director of the Institute for Science, Society and Policy at the University of Ottawa, said there are now renewed signs that Trudeau and Biden are ready to seek a potential breakthrough.
David Knight Legg, chief executive officer of the Invest Alberta Corp., and Adam Waterous, founder of Waterous Energy Fund which invests in established North American oil assets, said in an article that the need for a partnership is urgent.
They said the U.S. is no longer energy independent, with a sharp decline in shale production last year contributing to a decrease from 13 million barrels per day to 11 million bpd.
At the same time, global oil demand is expected to rise by 5 million bpd to 105 million bpd need by 2025, stirring competition to meet that need by “foreign, often despotic state national oil companies (NOCs),” Legg and Waterous said.
They said that trend points to NOCs controlling 80% of global output by 2030.
“In this context, it is important to note that the U.S. and Canada are the only open democracies among the top 10 energy powers,” making them key players in protecting democratic values and investor-led marketplaces that point the way to efficiency, innovation and the development of greener and cleaner fuels, along with accountability and regulatory oversight, they said.
The article warned that an oil world where prices are increasingly set by Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran has negative long-term implications for U.S. energy security and the U.S. trade deficit.
- GARY PARK
| 