Fredericton NB – The three New Brunswick chapters of the Council of Canadians—Fredericton, Moncton, and Saint John—remain baffled as to why Premier Gallant has given credence to the science on shale gas but has denied the science on the Energy-East pipeline.
“While we applaud his decision to use science as the basis for a moratorium on shale gas,” says Maggie Connell, Co-Chair of the Fredericton Chapter of the Council of Canadians “we are puzzled as to why he seems to have dodged scientists’ warnings about tarsands expansion.”
In a report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in September 2013, the world’s leading climate scientists called for drastic reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. These reductions are needed to avoid what scientists are saying will be irreversible climate change if we don’t drastically reduce our emissions now.
It is estimated that the Energy-East pipeline would increase our carbon dioxide emissions annually by 32 million tonnes.
But instead of paying heed to this body of science and working towards the reduction of our carbon dioxide emissions, Premier Gallant went to Alberta to champion the pipeline.
“Ironic,” says Leticia Adair from the Saint John Chapter, “We just voted out Premier Alward who wanted to champion global warming through unconventional (shale) gas development. Now we’ve elected Premier Gallant who wants to do the same thing but with unconventional (tarsands) oil.”
“Premier Gallant should have stayed home to beef up the New Brunswick climate action plan to match New Brunswick’s greenhouse emission reduction targets with what scientists are saying is necessary—80% reductions by 2050. After that, we fully expect that he will plan a trip to European countries that are on the cutting edge of replacing their dependencies on fossil fuels with renewable energy,” adds Pamela Ross from the Moncton Chapter.
The Left Eye 