TORONTO — Erin Flanagan, federal policy director at the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to the announcement of the National Energy Board modernization expert review panel:
“We are encouraged to see the federal government finalize its terms of reference for its National Energy Board modernization process. We look forward to working with the government and its newly appointed expert panel to seize this important reform opportunity.
“The NEB’s structure, role and mandate must all be reconsidered in order to maintain the agency’s relevance and re-establish its credibility. This includes embedding sustainability considerations within the legislated definition of the public interest, removing barriers to stakeholder participation and strengthening the NEB’s approach to energy supply and demand forecasting.
“The NEB could be well-positioned to evaluate the economic and environmental case for new energy infrastructure in an increasingly carbon constrained world. However, in order to do so, this reform process must ensure the Board is equipped to consider progressively more stringent climate action in its modeling scenarios, and to assess the related economic implications for domestic and global rates of fossil fuel production.
“As underscored by the recent ministerial panel report on the Trans Mountain Expansion project, Canadians are keenly interested in understanding how major fossil fuel infrastructure can be reconciled with the country’s international climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. This review is Canada’s opportunity to establish a national energy regulator that is well-equipped to ensure energy infrastructure projects are aligned with the future the country has committed to achieve under the Paris Agreement.”
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Contact
Erin Flanagan
Program Director, Federal Policy
587-581-1701
Kelly O’Connor
Communications Lead
416-220-8804
Background
Reacts: Pembina reacts to federal climate test principles (January 2016)
Submission: Pembina Institute comments on NEB Modernization Expert Panel: draft Terms of Reference (July 2016)
