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Canadian Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is the Cleaner Fuel Alternative that Asian Markets Want and Need – CPW

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Trans Mountain LNG Terminal Expansion

From EnergyNow Media

By Canada Powered by Women

A woman in rural China gets ready to make dinner. She starts with food prep, then reaches for her fuel source to begin cooking.

Her options: likely wood or coal.

As she cooks, she is probably not aware that nearly half a million people in China who cook with wood or coal have an increased risk of major eye diseases that lead to blindness.

This was detailed in a University of Oxford study that also showed nearly half of the world’s population (that’s 3.8 billion people) is exposed to household air pollution from cooking with “dirty” solid fuels like wood or coal.

Even if she knew all this, what other choice would she have? Everyone has to prepare food for their family.

Poor air quality and its effect on human health is a significant cost to consider when using coal, but there are others as well, such as greenhouse gas emissions.

When burned for energy, coal releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. If you shift from thinking about the individual cooking at home to large-scale coal burning for electricity generation, the problem becomes a major environmental concern — and a significant contributing factor to climate change.

How big is the problem?

Coal power plants produce 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than any other single source, says the International Energy Agency (IEA).

This issue is important to us because that woman cooking at home could be any one of us. The difference is, we have options. With energy demand continuing to grow, the IEA reports that many countries feel they have little choice but to continue generating power with coal.

Furthermore, Canada Powered by Women research (which captures the opinions of 24% of all women in Canada) shows that the vast majority (84%) personally care about tackling climate change through global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction.

So, what exactly is the solution to this problem? It’s choice.

The solution for regions of the world that don’t have access to different types of energy is to provide alternatives to what they have today. One choice can, and should, be Canadian liquified natural gas (LNG).

(Assuming, that is, Canadian suppliers are supported enough by regulatory environments to produce and export this resource. More on this later…)

Many parts of the world — particularly Asia — want to replace coal with cleaner energy like LNG. Foreign markets such as Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and China are interested in turning to Canada as their source, over countries with less-than-stellar environmental and human rights records (not to mention uncertain political structures).

“We have incredible volumes of lower-carbon gas in B.C., and it represents an important new source of energy,” says Teresa Waddington, vice president, corporate relations at LNG Canada. “Canada is politically stable in an increasingly energy security-conscious world. We have good infrastructure and good systems in place to make sure that we are able to produce very, very reliably.”

It’s not just industry players who are on board with exporting our energy resources to foreign markets, either.

The majority of Canadian women we asked consider it important to supply ethical and responsibly produced oil, as well as LNG, internationally.

Canada is primed to take its cleaner energy options to the world — we just need the ability to get it to market.

Canadian LNG: The Same Energy for Half the Emissions

Markets around the world are interested in LNG over coal for good reason. It has half the emissions of coal for the same output of energy.

But in some Asian countries, coal-burning plants are being built at a lightning-fast pace because populations and manufacturers need rapid access to energy, Reuters reports.

“If we can displace current and future energy electricity generation and power generation with LNG, we’re taking a massive step forward,” Waddington says.

Beyond being a cleaner molecule, Canadian LNG is particularly attractive because it’s produced ethically and safely, thanks in part to strict industry regulations.

“We have the lowest methane emissions leakage anywhere in the globe,” Waddington notes.

And this is in part because Canada has highly stringent requirements for managing methane leakage — which can lead to greenhouse gas emissions and is a common concern about this kind of fuel.

“If you look across the spectrum of environment, social, governance (ESG), Canadian LNG is made with human rights at the forefront,” says Waddington.

With Support, Canada Can Lead the Global LNG Opportunity

Canada has the potential to pull ahead as a global leader in the production and export of clean energy to foreign markets — a move that would play an important role in reducing global emissions, facilitating a prosperous Canada economy and providing for those in need at home and abroad.

But that will only happen if governments offer LNG projects the support they need in the form of utility infrastructure investments and clear and fast permitting, Waddington says.

As an example, partnerships with local hydro providers to power LNG facilities is one way provincial governments can lower the carbon intensity of processing and exporting the fuel, she says.

Then of course, there’s also the potential of government incentives that inspire more investment in LNG facilities, as well as in technologies that support the production of an ever-cleaner natural gas molecule.

With technology and innovation in Canada advancing all the time, Waddington is optimistic about the opportunity ahead.

“We’re going to see Canada continue to emerge as world-leading in some of the ways that we can [reduce emissions] — as long as we keep up this momentum, supported by government.”

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About Canada Powered by Women

Uniting Women Through Bold Conversations

Canada Powered by Women represents Canadian women who believe sound energy policies are vital for the continuing economic prosperity of our country. We’re driven by the unshakable belief that a better world is possible and we can make it happen… together. Visit our website HERE for more information and JOIN OUR COMMUNITY.

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Business

Premiers fight to lower gas taxes as Trudeau hikes pump costs

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From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

By Jay Goldberg 

Thirty-nine hundred dollars – that’s how much the typical two-car Ontario family is spending on gas taxes at the pump this year.

You read that right. That’s not the overall fuel bill. That’s just taxes.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau keeps increasing your gas bill, while Premier Doug Ford is lowering it.

Ford’s latest gas tax cut extension is music to taxpayers’ ears. Ford’s 6.4 cent per litre gas tax cut, temporarily introduced in July 2022, is here to stay until at least next June.

Because of the cut, a two-car family has saved more than $1,000 so far. And that’s welcome news for Ontario taxpayers, because Trudeau is planning yet another carbon tax hike next April.

Trudeau has raised the overall tax burden at the pumps every April for the past five years. Next spring, he plans to raise gas taxes by another three cents per litre, bringing the overall gas tax burden for Ontarians to almost 60 cents per litre.

While Trudeau keeps hiking costs for taxpayers at the pumps, premiers of all stripes have been stepping up to the plate to blunt the impact of his punitive carbon tax.

Obviously, Ford has stepped up to the plate and has lowered gas taxes. But he’s not alone.

In Manitoba, NDP Premier Wab Kinew fully suspended the province’s 14 cent per litre gas tax for a year. And in Newfoundland, Liberal Premier Andrew Furey cut the gas tax by 8.05 cents per litre for nearly two-and-a-half years.

It’s a tale of two approaches: the Trudeau government keeps making life more expensive at the pumps, while premiers of all stripes are fighting to get costs down.

Families still have to get to work, get the kids to school and make it to hockey practice. And they can’t afford increasingly high gas taxes. Common sense premiers seem to get it, while Ottawa has its head in the clouds.

When Ford announced his gas tax cut extension, he took aim at the Liberal carbon tax mandated by the Trudeau government in Ottawa.

Ford noted the carbon tax is set to rise to 20.9 cents per litre next April, “bumping up the cost of everything once again and it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“Our government will always fight against it,” Ford said.

But there’s some good news for taxpayers: reprieve may be on the horizon.

Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s promises to axe the carbon tax as soon as he takes office.

With a federal election scheduled for next fall, the federal carbon tax’s days may very well be numbered.

Scrapping the carbon tax would make a huge difference in the lives of everyday Canadians.

Right now, the carbon tax costs 17.6 cents per litre. For a family filling up two cars once a week, that’s nearly $24 a week in carbon taxes at the pump.

Scrapping the carbon tax could save families more than $1,200 a year at the pumps. Plus, there would be savings on the cost of home heating, food, and virtually everything else.

While the Trudeau government likes to argue that the carbon tax rebates make up for all these additional costs, the Parliamentary Budget Officer says it’s not so.

The PBO has shown that the typical Ontario family will lose nearly $400 this year due to the carbon tax, even after the rebates.

That’s why premiers like Ford, Kinew and Furey have stepped up to the plate.

Canadians pay far too much at the pumps in taxes. While Trudeau hikes the carbon tax year after year, provincial leaders like Ford are keeping costs down and delivering meaningful relief for struggling families.

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Economy

Gas prices plummet in BC thanks to TMX pipeline expansion

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From Resource Works

By more than doubling capacity and cutting down the costs, the benefits of the TMX expansion are keeping more money in consumer pockets. 

Just months after the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) project was completed last year, Canadians, especially British Columbians, are experiencing the benefits promised by this once-maligned but invaluable piece of infrastructure. As prices fall when people gas up their cars, the effects are evident for all to see.

This drop in gasoline prices is a welcome new reality for consumers across B.C. and a long-overdue relief given the painful inflation of the past few years.

TMX has helped broaden Canadian oil’s access to world markets like never before, improve supply chains, and boost regional fuel supplies—all of which are helping keep money in the pockets of the middle class.

When TMX was approaching the finish line after the new year, it was praised for promising to ease long-standing capacity issues and help eliminate less efficient, pricier methods of shipping oil. By mid-May, TMX was completed and in full swing, with early data suggesting that gas prices in Vancouver were slackening compared to other cities in Canada.

Kent Fellows, an assistant professor of Economics and the Director of Graduate Programs for the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, noted that wholesale prices in Vancouver fell by roughly 28 cents per litre compared to the typically lower prices in Edmonton, thanks to the expanded capacity of TMX. Consequently, the actual price at the gas pump in the Lower Mainland fell too, providing relief to a part of Canada that traditionally suffers from high fuel costs.

In large part due to limited pipeline capacity, Vancouver’s gas prices have been higher than the rest of the country. From at least 2008 to this year, TMX’s capacity was unable to accommodate demand, leading to the generational issue of “apportionment,” which meant rationing pipeline space to manage excess demand.

Under the apportionment regime, customers received less fuel than they requested, which increased costs. With the expansion of TMX now complete, the pipeline’s capacity has more than doubled from 350,000 barrels per day to 890,000, effectively neutralizing the apportionment problem for now.

Since May, TMX has operated at 80 percent capacity, with no apportionment affecting customers or consumers.

Before the TMX expansion was completed, a litre of gas in Vancouver cost 45 cents more than a litre in Edmonton. By August, it was just 17 cents—a remarkable drop that underscores why it’s crucial to expand B.C.’s capacity to move energy sources like oil without the need for costly alternatives, allowing consumers to enjoy savings at the pump.

More than doubling TMX’s capacity has rapidly reshaped B.C.’s energy landscape. Despite tensions in the Middle East, per-litre gas prices in Vancouver have fallen from about $2.30 per litre to $1.54 this month. Even when there was a slight disruption in October, the price only rose to about $1.80, far below its earlier peaks.

As Kent Fellows noted, the only real change during this entire timeline has been the completion of the TMX expansion, and the benefits extend far beyond the province’s shores.

With TMX moving over 500,000 barrels more per day than it did previously, Canadian oil is now far more plentiful on the international market. Tankers routinely depart Burrard Inlet loaded with oil bound for destinations in South Korea and Japan.

In this uncertain world, where oil markets remain volatile, TMX serves as a stabilizing force for both Canada and the world. People in B.C. can rest easier with TMX acting as a barrier against sharp shifts in supply and demand.

For critics who argue that the $31 billion invested in the project is short-sighted, the benefits for everyday people are becoming increasingly evident in a province where families have endured high gas prices for years.

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