Setting the record straight on the day’s top anti-oil and gas media stories
ACTIVIST CLAIM: Foreign-funded Dogwood letter-writing campaign to Big Banks claims funding TMX is funding Indigenous rights violations and climate destruction.
THE FACTS: Banks investing in responsibly produced Canadian oil and gas means lower global environmental impacts – and support for the industry employing more Indigenous people per capita than any other.
THE SOURCES:
Tell banks: don’t gamble on Trans Mountain
Here are some facts and sources to have a reasoned conversation about Trans Mountain:
- This study from Navius Research shows that Trans Mountain can help lower global emissions by 1,600,000 tonnes instead of being the climate catastrophe they claim.
https://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents/p80061/115457E.pdf - Banks investing in the Canadian oil and gas industry means they are investing in an industry that spends the most of any other industry on cleantech.
https://cleanresourceinnovation.com/preview-pdf/resource/CRIN%20Oil%20and%20Gas%20Innovation%20Ecosystem%20Presentation%202017.pdf - The oil and gas industry employs more Indigenous people than any other sector. According to PetroLMI, 13,900 self-identified Indigenous Peoples were directly employed in the oil and gas industry, a rise of 26% from 2014.
https://careersinoilandgas.com/news/petrolmi-report-highlights-opportunities-to-support-indigenous-employment-post-pandemic-in-canadas-energy-industry/ - The oil and gas industry brings high employment income for Indigenous people. Those who work in oil and gas extraction and pipeline transportation can expect a median income of $144,034 and $142,883 respectively
https://www.canadianenergycentre.ca/research-brief-canadas-oil-sands-and-local-first-nations/ - As of January 2021, Trans Mountain Corp. has signed agreements with 73 communities along its path, include many Secwepemc communities. 120 of the 129 total communities that could be effected by Trans Mountain support or do not oppose the project.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-court-appeal-trans-mountain-1.5450748
Stories that get it right
Canada’s oil and gas industry “leading the way” in reducing carbon emissions
Contrary to popular belief, oil and gas companies are typically quite advanced in their ESG strategies, as well as their research, development, and investment in green energy, according to Smith – a 25-year veteran of the oil and gas industry.
“What we’re seeing is that the majority of spending on green, clean, and renewable energy projects is coming from the large traditional energy companies,” Smith told Insurance Business. “They’ve either got joint ventures, or they’ve got ownership interests in a lot of producing assets that are in the alternative energy space.
