Alberta’s environment minister, Rebecca Schulz has accused the federal government of threatening the provinces by saying it would withhold funding from electricity projects that do not decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
Rebecca Schulz said that the federal plan to link funding to emissions reduction is unfair, divisive and undermines the provincial jurisdiction over energy.
The federal government announced recently that it would invest $25 billion over five years to back the transition to clean and renewable electricity across Canada.
The fund will be disbursed through a new Canada Clean Electricity Fund, which will back projects like interties, storage, transmission lines, and grid modernization.
Meanwhile, the federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, said the funding would be conditional on the provinces that are committed to phasing out coal-fired power plants by 2030, and to achieve net-zero emissions from electricity by 2050.
Also, he said that the federal government would not fund projects that increase emissions, such as new natural gas plants.
Schulz said that the federal plan is not acceptable and disrespects the provinces, especially Alberta, which depends heavily on coal and natural gas for electricity.
According to her, Alberta has its own plan to minimize emissions from electricity, which includes increasing the share of renewables, implementing a carbon pricing system, and using carbon capture and storage technology.
Also, she said the province needs natural gas as an affordable and reliable source of electricity, and that the federal government should not intervene in the province’s energy choices.
She accused the government of using the funding as leverage to enforce its agenda on the provinces, and creating a rift between regions.
