The Globe and Mail

Ottawa, Alberta agree on carbon pricing to advance plan for new oil pipeline

Alberta and its energy industry has moved closer to their goal of a major new oil pipeline to the Pacific Coast. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Danielle Smith signed a long-awaited deal Friday in on carbon pricing and emissions reductions. The agreement, signed in Calgary, finalizes a key part of a memorandum of understanding they forged last year. The pact ties Ottawa’s support for a potential one-million-barrel-a-day pipeline to Alberta’s commitment to increase the carbon price. That price is imposed on oil producers and reduces greenhouse gas emissions through carbon capture and storage, also called CCS. There are still a number of steps required before each gets what it wants. That includes an agreement by oil sands producers to invest capital on the CCS project, as well as attracting a private-sector developer and deciding on a route for a multibillion-dollar export pipeline. But with the announcement, Mr. Carney is showing his intent to bolster the Canadian economy by developing its natural resources amid geopolitical uncertainty and trade friction. Ms. Smith is looking to expand her province’s oil sector as she faces a separatist backlash at home. #CdnPoli #AbPoli #Canada #Alberta #shorts Subscribe to The Globe and Mail's Morning Update to get stories directly in your inbox: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/newsletters/subscribe-morning-update/