Dear Minister Guilbeault,
ECO is concerned about oil, gas and petrochemical companies being given event space at the first-ever Canada Pavilion at a COP. Expecting support from friends in civil society, ECO formally requests that the Canada Pavilion cancel the Pathways Alliance Event on 11 November, and all other events featuring participation by oil, gas or petrochemical companies.
Industries aligned with climate action would receive ECO’s welcome in event programming, and there are many of these companies present at COP27. However, oil and gas companies, like those active within the Pathways Alliance, have been the biggest obstacle to climate action – both at COP and back in Canada, and for decades now have made their fortunes while millions around the world suffer the tragedies of climate impacts.
Oil and gas companies are touting themselves as climate leaders, while in fact their activities continue to erode the rights and negatively impact the health and culture of Indigenous communities, notably through trillions of litres of toxic waste stored in tailings “ponds.” Companies keep pointing to carbon capture and storage — despite the technology’s decades-long track record of underperformance and failure. And even if the technology did work, carbon capture would do nothing about the environmental harm caused to Indigenous nations at the frontlines of oil and gas extraction. Carbon capture cannot address the 80%-90% of emissions that are emitted when the oil and gas they pump out of the ground gets burned. The industry isn’t interested in carbon capture to reduce emissions — it’s about greenwashing its plans to continue producing fossil fuels for decades to come.
Platforming these companies at the Canada Pavilion is harmful to Canada’s global reputation. The net-zero recommendations from the UN expert body chaired by former Minister of the Environment Catherine McKenna were clear: “You cannot be a net-zero leader while continuing to build or invest in fossil fuel supply.”
ECO and friends call on the government of Canada and those charged with managing the Canada Pavilion to heed this call, and remove any future events featuring oil, gas, and petrochemical companies from the official Pavilion schedule of events.
Sincerely,
ECO