Climate and Energy

Displaying 1 - 10 of 776

Why US climate lawsuits against Big Oil matter in Canada

The past few weeks have seen a couple of important developments in the U.S. court cases brought against fossil fuel companies for the costs of climate change.

First, on May 15th and April 24th, the U.S. Supreme Court refused applications by fossil fuel companies to halt climate lawsuits filed against them by state and local governments. This means these cases, which are aimed at recovering climate costs, will continue.

Alberta’s Superior Court Rejects Former Premier Kenney’s Arguments To Avoid Defamation Lawsuit Brought Forward By Five Environmental Groups

Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa — Alberta’s superior court today dismissed attempts by former Premier Jason Kenney and the Alberta government to throw out a defamation lawsuit brought forward by five environmental groups. Environmental Defence, West Coast Environmental Law, Dogwood Initiative, Stand.earth and the Wilderness Committee are suing former Premier Jason Kenney and the Alberta government for lying about the findings of his Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns.

As Trans Mountain costs surpass $30B, will Canadian banks continue the illusion?

Last month, I published an op-ed marking the one-year anniversary of Trans Mountain’s last cost update (Feb. 18, 2022), when the price tag of the expansion ballooned to $21.4 billion. At the time, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland promised that no more public money would be spent on the embattled pipeline and tanker project.  

Chrystia Freeland’s Trans Mountain pipeline is being propped up by Canadian banks

This op-ed originally appeared in the National Observer on February 27th, 2023.

Feb. 18, 2023 marked the one-year anniversary of Trans Mountain’s last construction cost update, when the price tag of the expansion project (TMX) ballooned to $21.4 billion — nearly triple the cost projected when Canada bought the embattled pipeline in 2018.

Martine Panzica

Martine Panzica (she/her/hers) is the Climate Communications Specialist at West Coast Environmental Law. 

Martine holds a BA in Global Politics from Carleton University, and a MA in International Development from Dalhousie University. Prior to her time at West Coast, Martine has worked in communications and editing with Lion’s Roar Magazine, the Atlantic Council of International Cooperation (ACIC), and Dalhousie University. 

Climate report confirms BC won't meet targets thanks to LNG Canada

At the end of November, BC’s Minister of Environment issued its 2022 Climate Change Accountability Report, boasting in a press release about “progress made in key areas.” The BC media entirely failed to cover it – which is disappointing, because, as Minister Heyman pointed out in the press release, the report is intended to be “a cornerstone of our tra