Oil project Bay du Nord approved after United Nations say no more oil
Despite warnings against fossil fuel expansion from world’s top climate scientists and United Nations Secretary General, major deepwater oil project off the east coast of Canada, Bay du Nord, gets green light. But hope is not lost—we the people hold the power, and it’s time to mobilize!
In a time when the world is urged to cease the expansion of fossil fuel projects, the Canadian feds just approved a project with huge implications. Social media has gone crazy with people across the country shaking their heads at the absurdity of this decision.
There are many things fundamentally wrong with this project, but we’ll just list a few.
Proponents of the Bay du Nord project claim the project is “low carbon”, and claim the project will be “net zero” by 2050. Don’t be fooled. This dubious claim only relates to emissions at the point of extraction. In reality, the majority of GHG emissions (about 85%) come from fossil fuel burning—regardless of how it was extracted, emissions will continue to soar when the fuel is burned… for example, when used as fuel for transportation (this is what’s technically known as “scope 3” emissions).
The project could see the extraction of 1 billion barrels of oil (the annual production equivalent to adding 7 million gas cars to the road), coming from 500 km northeast of St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador. Proponents say BdN would be good for jobs and the economy, but any investment in fossil fuels is certain to fail because the world is moving away from fossil fuels, whether oil advocates admit it or not.
And despite what some oil lobbyists are saying, BdN will not improve global security in the face of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The latest IPCC report says current fossil fuel projects are at risk of being abandoned as the planet moves toward ‘net zero’. Approving a new oil project, that won’t even be ready for another 6 years, is a shameful embarrassment. The real global security threat is the climate crisis.
More impactful economic stability should come from energy projects like deep energy retrofits and wind developments. In fact, renewable energy solutions like wind and solar, are becoming increasingly more affordable, as explained in the Energy Mix. The cost of energy from renewables is even out-competing fossil fuels in most parts of the world.
We desperately need climate emergency mode!
It’s the approval of projects like Bay du Nord that confirm to us that the Canadian government is not in climate emergency mode, and neither are the fossil fuel companies that should be working to transition for a sustainable future. It doesn’t matter how many climate consultants they hire, or blog posts they write, until they can prove to us that they’re willing to divest from fossil fuels and invest in a sustainable future (economic, social, and environmental), then they are pushing the dangerous status-quo.
Change is possible, and it's now more than ever that we need people just like you to use your power and mobilize for the climate emergency.
For a refresher on the 6 marker emergency framework, see this page.
Projects like BdN, and policies that allow the destruction of our planet, are human made and can therefore be challenged by humans. In our short time on this planet, we’ve lived through decimating diseases like the bubonic plague, we’ve survived natural disasters, we fought back against extreme facism and hate, and now, we fight human-caused climate change by challenging the corporations that value money over people.
To do your part, we urge you to evaluate where you have power. If you live in a rental apartment—start a climate committee. Take your concerns about your building’s emissions to building management. If you work in a school district, think about ways your board can get into climate emergency mode (referring back to the 6 markers). If you are active with a faith institution, organize with others to move your institution into emergency mode. We all need to figure out how to decarbonize our lives, but more importantly, we need to work together to put the political heat on those with power to chart a new course.
You have more power than you think.
Whether you are on a sports team, work in a grocery store, are the CEO of an organization, are a doctor, nurse or care aid, a veterinarian, a mechanic, a janitor, a computer scientist—you have power.
It’s time we mobilize. For our kids, and for our grandkids.
“Bay du Nord also places whales, deep sea corals and other ocean life at risk from spills, noise, and vessel traffic.”
“I don’t think this project actually truly, genuinely respects Indigenous knowledge…When they say that this project respects Indigenous knowledge, I think they’re picking and choosing, and I think they’re treating Indigenous knowledge as a buzzword.”