Taking Action
Saskatchewan's history of fighting climate change
Climate change is one of the most important challenges humanity faces in our time. It is a global issue that affects all countries. Addressing climate change requires a complete reassessment of the way most humans have lived since the Industrial Age, and for high consumers in wealthy countries, it involves changing how we live and how our economies function (Klein, 2014).
Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions are 726 megatonnes annually, making our country among the top 10 global emitters and one of the largest emitters per capita. Saskatchewan in particular stands out as an energy glutton, emitting over 74 million tonnes of greenhouse gases annually (Boothe & Boudreault, 2016).
The province’s emissions per person are over three times more than the Canadian average and almost 10 times higher than the world average.
Saskatchewan also has the highest per capita emissions in the country, and is one of the highest per capita emitters in the world; each person in Saskatchewan contributes 67 tonnes annually (Boothe & Boudreault, 2016).
Source: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Saskatchewan’s high emissions aren’t surprising, given the province’s dependence on fossil fuel consumption and extraction. The fossil fuel industry is deeply entrenched in the province. Oil and gas extraction accounts for 34 per cent of provincial emissions -- the single biggest source for greenhouse gas emissions in the province. The industry has pushed Saskatchewan’s emissions up by 66 per cent since 1990 (Mertins & Kirkwood, 2017). Saskatchewan is the country’s second-largest oil producer, and in 2014 the province produced 29.8 million cubic metres of crude oil, or about 37 per cent of the country’s total production (Ward, 2009). The use of oil, gas and coal contributes around 80 per cent of all carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere (Droege, 2009).
Source: Government of Saskatchewan
Many argue that this reliance on fossil fuels to drive economic growth has caused Saskatchewan to be a laggard when it comes to addressing climate change, and say Saskatchewan has a long history of pursuing economic growth at the expense of the environment (Hanley, 2001; Schmidt, 1999). By continuing to rely on fossil fuels as an economic driver, the province may be exacerbating harmful global trends and missing important opportunities that lead toward a greener, more sustainable future.
The provincial government supports Canada’s emission reduction targets of 30% below 2005 emission levels by 2030, as the country has signed on to the Paris Accord on climate change. However, Saskatchewan has not committed to any emission reduction targets provincially and has declined to join the pan-Canadian climate framework while being a vocal critic of federal government climate policies (Mertins & Kirkwood, 2017).
The Saskatchewan government released a white paper on climate change in late 2016 outlining its proposed climate change policies, and opposing a federal price on carbon. The province has advocated a technology and innovation-focused approach to combating climate change, and has invested heavily in carbon capture and storage technology, hoping to export the technology to help fight emissions globally. Although the technology can reduce emissions if implemented on a wide-scale, it is unlikely other countries will invest in the technology while it remains so expensive.
The white paper also included calls on the federal government to increase funding to climate change mitigation and adaptation research, planning and infrastructure; increasing SaskPower’s renewables like wind and solar to 50 per cent of generating capacity by 2030; federal government partnering with SaskPower and the International CCS Knowledge Centre to further develop CCS for worldwide; recognition for uranium exports and for the province’s carbon sinks like forests, wetlands and farmlands; and to levy a tax on large emitters to go into a fund for green technology and innovation to reduce emissions when the resource economy strengthens (Government of Saskatchewan, 2016).
However, critics argue that the white paper, with its continued reliance on traditional fuel sources, offers little in the form of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at home and fails to outline a comprehensive alternative strategy besides opposing a carbon tax (Mertins & Kirkwood, 2017).
With the current policies on climate change to mitigate emissions provincially, it is estimated that Saskatchewan’s annual greenhouse gas emissions of 75 million tonnes will be reduced by 7 million tonnes. More aggressive mitigation strategies will need to be implemented in order to meet Canada’s emission reduction targets and for Saskatchewan to do its part at home to combat climate change.
Source: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Sources:
Boothe, Paul & Felix A. Boudreault (2016). By the Numbers: Canadian GHG Emissions. London: Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management, Ivey Business School at Western University.
Droege, Peter (2009). 100 percent Renewable Energy Autonomy in Action. London: Earthscan.
Government of Saskatchewan (2016). Climate Change White Paper. Regina, Saskatchewan: Government of Saskatchewan.
Hanley, P. (2001, June 26). Environmental rating consistently poor. Star Phoenix . Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada: CanWest Publications.
Klein, Naomi (2014). This Changes Everything. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf Canada.
Mertins-Kirkwood, Hadrian (2017). Tracking Progress: Evaluating government plans and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. 12-14; 21-23.
Schmidt, L. (1999, May 20). Watchdog group fails Sask. in efforts to reduce emissions. Star Phoenix . Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada: CanWest Media Publications.
Ward, Norman (2009). The Canadian Encyclopedia. “Saskatchewan”. Historica Canada.