Terence Corcoran
October 14, 2025
Way back during the final days of the Justin Trudeau Liberal era in Ottawa, the environmentally activist regime rarely missed an opportunity to proclaim its dedication to the climate crisis. In October of 2024 Ottawa imposed a 100 per cent tariff on imports of electric vehicles from China. While obviously a trade protectionist move, the Trudeau team could not resist dragging in the climate issue: “China’s EV production is characterized by a distinctly higher emissions intensity, mainly attributable to a comparatively high carbon footprint in EV battery production and key inputs, such as aluminum and steel.”
Does China’s EV carbon footprint matter anymore? In fact, it is hard to see how the carbon footprint from any economic activity matters much as Canada and the world appear to be turning away from the global climate crisis. A recently released report from a trio of international environmental and sustainability institutions concluded that major nations, including Canada, are failing to meet carbon-reduction targets agreed to in the 2016 international Paris Agreement.
The report — titled “The Production Gap” — concludes that “the situation remains stark: countries are in aggregate planning even more fossil fuel production than before, putting global climate ambitions at risk.” The survey of major fossil fuel producing nations finds that, based on current government plans, countries around the world now plan for levels of coal, oil and gas production in 2050 that would double the production levels allegedly needed to meet global warming targets. As the past 125 years of data show, world consumption of fossil fuels continues to rise, with little to indicate that the trend is about to change (see graph).
The Production Gap describes Canada as a country where “substantial amounts of public financing continue to flow to domestic fossil fuel production.” In view of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s uncertain agenda, it is impossible to predict where Canada climate change policies — soon to be disclosed in some form — are heading. In the past Carney has said that a new pipeline — Alberta’s Northern Gateway route to the West Coast — would only be approved if a conglomerate of oilsands corporations known as the Pathways Alliance built major carbon capture operations that would pipe CO2 emissions to burial sites hundreds of kilometres north.
At least that’s what Carney said last month. More recently, he dodged the climate-fossil fuel issue when he was asked by a reporter whether he was “at all considering repealing either the tanker ban or the emissions cap? Yes or no.” In response, Carney said: “Ah … the … it depends” on resolving all the economic and environmental issues surrounding energy developments.
With four weeks to go before the opening of the COP30 conference in Brazil, it is difficult to see how Carney will be able to come up with a coherent fossil fuel and carbon control plan before the conference. Canada has already tacitly admitted it cannot meet its previous climate commitment for the year 2030. Ministers have instead taken to reiterating a commitment to far-off 2050 targets.
The good news for Carney is that many other countries will be struggling to make sense of the confused climate policy environment. The United States pulled out of the Paris Agreement and will not be attending COP30 — reflecting President Donald Trump’s view that climate change is a “hoax” and, more recently, “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
Other nations are at odds with one another. Back in July, the European Union and China embraced one another in recognition that “green is the defining colour of China-EU co-operation, and that the two sides have a solid foundation and broad space for co-operation in the field of green transition.” The green turned red last month after the EU’s chief climate diplomat called China’s carbon control plans “disappointing,” creating concern that the conflict would damage the prospects for meaningful agreement at COP30 — especially since the EU group of nations appear to be far from agreement on climate targets among themselves.
In Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, the CEO of Saudi Aramco has declared that the great green energy transition promoted by Carney is a failure. Oil demand is surging and there is no sign of a reversal on the horizon.
Even if all nations were to agree, coming up with targets is actually the easy part of climate policy. The real challenge is hitting the targets, as the fossil fuel consumption graphic demonstrates.
ca.finance.yahoo.com
October 14, 2025
Way back during the final days of the Justin Trudeau Liberal era in Ottawa, the environmentally activist regime rarely missed an opportunity to proclaim its dedication to the climate crisis. In October of 2024 Ottawa imposed a 100 per cent tariff on imports of electric vehicles from China. While obviously a trade protectionist move, the Trudeau team could not resist dragging in the climate issue: “China’s EV production is characterized by a distinctly higher emissions intensity, mainly attributable to a comparatively high carbon footprint in EV battery production and key inputs, such as aluminum and steel.”
Does China’s EV carbon footprint matter anymore? In fact, it is hard to see how the carbon footprint from any economic activity matters much as Canada and the world appear to be turning away from the global climate crisis. A recently released report from a trio of international environmental and sustainability institutions concluded that major nations, including Canada, are failing to meet carbon-reduction targets agreed to in the 2016 international Paris Agreement.
The report — titled “The Production Gap” — concludes that “the situation remains stark: countries are in aggregate planning even more fossil fuel production than before, putting global climate ambitions at risk.” The survey of major fossil fuel producing nations finds that, based on current government plans, countries around the world now plan for levels of coal, oil and gas production in 2050 that would double the production levels allegedly needed to meet global warming targets. As the past 125 years of data show, world consumption of fossil fuels continues to rise, with little to indicate that the trend is about to change (see graph).
The Production Gap describes Canada as a country where “substantial amounts of public financing continue to flow to domestic fossil fuel production.” In view of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s uncertain agenda, it is impossible to predict where Canada climate change policies — soon to be disclosed in some form — are heading. In the past Carney has said that a new pipeline — Alberta’s Northern Gateway route to the West Coast — would only be approved if a conglomerate of oilsands corporations known as the Pathways Alliance built major carbon capture operations that would pipe CO2 emissions to burial sites hundreds of kilometres north.
At least that’s what Carney said last month. More recently, he dodged the climate-fossil fuel issue when he was asked by a reporter whether he was “at all considering repealing either the tanker ban or the emissions cap? Yes or no.” In response, Carney said: “Ah … the … it depends” on resolving all the economic and environmental issues surrounding energy developments.
With four weeks to go before the opening of the COP30 conference in Brazil, it is difficult to see how Carney will be able to come up with a coherent fossil fuel and carbon control plan before the conference. Canada has already tacitly admitted it cannot meet its previous climate commitment for the year 2030. Ministers have instead taken to reiterating a commitment to far-off 2050 targets.
The good news for Carney is that many other countries will be struggling to make sense of the confused climate policy environment. The United States pulled out of the Paris Agreement and will not be attending COP30 — reflecting President Donald Trump’s view that climate change is a “hoax” and, more recently, “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
Other nations are at odds with one another. Back in July, the European Union and China embraced one another in recognition that “green is the defining colour of China-EU co-operation, and that the two sides have a solid foundation and broad space for co-operation in the field of green transition.” The green turned red last month after the EU’s chief climate diplomat called China’s carbon control plans “disappointing,” creating concern that the conflict would damage the prospects for meaningful agreement at COP30 — especially since the EU group of nations appear to be far from agreement on climate targets among themselves.
In Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, the CEO of Saudi Aramco has declared that the great green energy transition promoted by Carney is a failure. Oil demand is surging and there is no sign of a reversal on the horizon.
Even if all nations were to agree, coming up with targets is actually the easy part of climate policy. The real challenge is hitting the targets, as the fossil fuel consumption graphic demonstrates.
Terence Corcoran: On the eve of COP30, nations are sidelining the climate 'crisis'
World consumption of fossil fuels continues to rise, with little to indicate that the trend is about to change
ca.finance.yahoo.com
