As Syncrude Canada braces for a public backlash following the deaths of more ducks in its oilsands tailings ponds, Satya Das is pointing his finger elsewhere.
The author of Dispatches from a Borderless World, The Best Country — Why Canada Will Lead the Future and Green Oil said much of the blame for environmental problems associated with fossil fuel development rests with consumers.
“Unless we seriously address consumption, beating up on producers like Alberta isn’t going to get us very far.”
Speaking at the Synergy Alberta conference in Red Deer on Wednesday, Das described how the United States — Canada’s primary oil customer — wants the cheapest gas prices in the world while also demanding the highest standards of environmental accountability.
“Until and unless the United States understands and decides that it’s a consumption problem, that it’s going to have to pay a lot more for its energy, or that it’s going to have to pay the environmental cleanup cost — none of which I see being volunteered by the Tea Party and other social movements down there — we’re going to be stuck with this.”
The American defence budget, which exceeds $700 billion a year, is needed in large part to safeguard Middle East oil supplies, said Das. A fraction of that amount would help ensure a sustainable source of energy from Canada.
“But it’s not a choice that’s on the policy horizon.”
Das thinks Canada has the potential to become a “clean energy superpower,” with the transition financed by the oilsands. By 2017, the country could have more recoverable oil than anywhere else in the world, he said, as advancing technologies make more of the oilsands’ 1.9 trillion barrels of oil reserves accessible.
A direct energy severance tax, applied to everything from oil to wind power, could generate billions of dollars for development of green technologies, subsidization of alternative energy sources and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, he said.
Das thinks Alberta should pursue other green initiatives like high-speed rail, nanotechnology and biotechnology. It and Canada could serve as a model for the rest of the world, particularly as compared with other oil-producing countries that use their energy wealth to promote instability and violence.
“We are going to be not only the leading economic power in terms of energy reserves, we’re going to be the only one that has a legal, moral, ethical and societal obligation to democracy, the rule of law, transparency, accountability and actually a culture that promotes the common good and social cohesion and stability.”
Groups like Synergy Alberta — which supports collaboration among community, industry and government for energy development — are well-positioned to push the province and country toward such a future, he said.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com