09/17/2026
Angela Carter will be speaking September 28th in HNES 140 from 2:30-4:00 about the urgency to act on climate and the hazards oil extraction poses to the globe.
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 fossil fuels 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. Last April, Colombia and the Netherlands convened the first International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels (or TAFF) to consolidate and hasten global leadership. What of Canada?
A Canadian delegation was there, but awkwardly avoided saying “fossil fuels,” much less admitting the need to phase out production of them. Because contrary to aligning with this imperative, political leaders across Canada are doubling down on oil, claiming “our” (a possessive to be questioned) oil is “decarbonized” or “lower carbon.” They peddle false solutions like carbon capture to justify producing ever more oil for decades to come. Oil sector subsidies continue as Carney’s government expediates 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 petro-provinces’ exposure to global oil demand uncertainty that is increasing as other nations seek more stable and secure non-oil energy. Meanwhile the advantages of transitioning, equitably, to low carbon energy are obvious.
This January, delegates from Canada will likely head to Tuvalu as part of the second TAFF effort to end oil. In the lead up, we have much to discuss. What will it take to realign Canadian energy/climate policy with a global transition away from oil? What is our role within our universities and communities?
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