Another important point to take note of is that the oil and gas sector makes up about 10 to 25% of Russia’s economy. In other words, it’s enormous. Russia is highly dependent on this resource for its economic well-being, but is also very vulnerable if the world could somehow boycott or reduce how much it purchases from Russia.
SUN COLUMN: Radical Environmentalists Have Helped Putin
If you’re appalled by Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine, consider how radical environmentalists in Canada helped enable the dictator.
To begin, note that Russia is the third-largest producer of oil in the world and the second-largest producer of natural gas. Much of those resources it produces are exported; according to The Economist, Russia is the largest provider of natural gas in Europe. The United States imports 585,000 barrels of oil per day from Russia, and even Canada has spent a small fortune importing Russian oil over the past decade – $3.6 billion.
This is where Canada could have come in – emphasis on “could have.”
Canada is the fourth-largest producer of both oil and natural gas in the world, but readers should note that most of our energy exports are sold to the United States. This is largely due to the fact that we don’t have enough pipelines to our coasts so shipping the resources beyond North America is extremely limited.
Of course, companies in Canada have tried building more pipeline, but radical environmentalists and governments have opposed these projects.
For instance, the proposed Energy East pipeline would have transported oil from Western Canada to Eastern Canada. This could have allowed Eastern Canada to reduce reliance on countries like Russia for oil, while allowing Canada to export more oil abroad. The federal government put up a blockade in front of this project.
Then there was the Northern Gateway project in British Columbia. It would have allowed Canada to ship oil from Alberta to nations outside of North America. The Trudeau government rejected this project too.
Finally, consider the Keystone XL pipeline. It would have transported more Canadian oil to the United States, helping the latter reduce reliance on countries like Russia. The Biden Administration cancelled that project – another “win” for radical environmentalists.
In terms of natural gas, our nation has faced a similar problem. According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, there were five proposed projects to develop natural gas in Eastern Canada – none were built. Had any of those projects been supported by government, we could be exporting natural gas to Europe right now, reducing their reliance on Putin’s Russia.
In fact, our energy policies in Canada are so non-sensical, a carbon neutral natural gas project from Questerre has essentially been rejected by the Quebec government. In the meantime, Quebec continues to import natural gas from the United States.
One has to wonder how many of the environmental groups opposed to these projects in Canada were funded by Russia.
Many have raised concerns for years about how keeping Canada’s oil in the ground means the world is more dependent on oil from regimes like Putin’s Russia. Sadly, governments have sided with radical environmentalists and here we are – the chickens have come home to roost.
As the tanks roll into Ukraine and casualties pile up, Canadians should stop shaking their fists at their televisions and start shaking them at our own radical environmental movement. They’ve helped enable the dictator behind the invasion.
Colin Craig is the President of Canadian think tank SecondStreet.org. You can reach him at colin@secondstreet.org or follow him on Twitter (@colincraig1)
Column published in Sun newspapers (Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton) on February 28, 2022.
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