The Department of Political Studies' 8th annual John Meisel Lecture in Contemporary Political Controversies
"How to Elbow Up for Phase Out? Canada and the Global Imperative to End Oil Production" with Dr. Angela Carter
Abstract:
Canada is emphatically off course from the global imperative to phase out oil production. Why and what is needed to get on track?
Another summer of record-breaking heat and fires is yet another reminder of the urgency to act on climate. Doing so requires phasing out fossil fuel extraction and use, given that oil, gas, and coal are the primary source of emissions causing the intensifying climate crisis. Communities have resisted oil extraction for decades and finally international governance institutions are acknowledging the need to prevent new—and phase out existing—oil production. Yet contrary to aligning with this imperative, political leaders across Canada make false claims about “decarbonized” or “lower carbon” oil, and lean on false solutions to reduce emissions to justify more oil production for decades to come. The federal government is expediting project approvals as part of “elbows-up” nation-building.
Facilitating oil extraction expansion is a climate hazard, but it is also a socio-economic risk given the petro-provinces’ exposure to global oil demand uncertainty that is increasing as other nations seek more stable and secure energy. Meanwhile the advantages of enacting an equitable transition to low carbon energy are obvious.
What will it take to realign Canadian energy/climate policy with a fair transition away from oil? What is our role within universities?
Biography:
Dr. Angela Carter is the Canada Research Chair in Equitable Energy Governance and Public Policy and Professor in the Department of Political Science at Memorial University. Her research is focused on climate and energy politics in Canada and internationally, particularly on how an oil production phaseout can be managed to improve social equity.
鶹 the Meisel Lecture Series:
Established in 2017, The John Meisel Lecture Series celebrates Professor Emeritus John Meisel (1923 – 2025), one of Canada’s leading and influential political scientists, by providing a forum for addressing controversial major political issues facing scholars, policy-makers, and the public.
