Letter from Canada: Alberta concedes to energy transition

The region’s hydrocarbons sector grudgingly accepts the inevitable rise of low-carbon energy, and the government is taking steps not to be left out

The Alberta government and the province’s all-important oil and gas industry have been slow to accept the way the world is changing. Despite the US shale gas revolution bringing an end to sky-high gas prices at the end of the 2000s and the US light-tight oil revolution doing much the same for oil prices by the middle of last decade, the province has widely snubbed decarbonisation efforts. The provincial government and the oil sands industry have refused to accept the threat posed by the global climate movement, with some irrationally attacking the science supporting it and anyone who accepts it—including the Canadian government under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 40p