Canada approves the construction of a major oil project in the Atlantic Ocean
An offshore oil exploitation platform.
Getty Images/HeliRy
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Canadian authorities on Wednesday gave their approval for the construction of a major oil project in the Atlantic Ocean.
It had already been postponed because very controversial.
Advertising
Read more
Called Bay du Nord, this deposit 500 kilometers off the coast of the province of Newfoundland will be exploited by the Norwegian giant Equinor.
The government's authorization given on Wednesday had been postponed, as the project is controversial
.
According to the Norwegian firm, 300 million barrels of oil over 30 years will be extracted from this deposit and this project will thus become the fifth platform of its kind in Canada.
The country is already
the world's fourth largest oil producer.
The announcement of the construction immediately provoked an outcry from certain political parties and environmental organizations.
Greenpeace says it's the "
triumph
" of policies that "only
make the climate crisis worse
".
The New Democratic Party, allied in Parliament to Justin Trudeau's Liberals, believes that "
this shows exactly what is wrong with this government".
"
They're listening to their oil and gas buddies instead of listening to climate scientists
," said Laurel Collins, NDP environment critic.
These
organizations also recall that the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has described
the dependence on fossil fuels as “
madness ”.
A speech given just a few days ago
on the occasion of the publication of the latest IPCC report.
UN climate experts estimate the necessary reduction in the use of oil by 2050 at 60%.
But for the moment, justifies the Canadian Minister of the Environment,
“the world still needs oil
”.
The former climate activist also assures that the government has imposed " stricter
" environmental conditions
than "
ever
".
The project should achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, 22 years after the start of operations.
The challenge to this project was such that it has already been postponed twice.
The exploitation of this deposit
also revives a number of criticisms
against Justin Trudeau, often attacked in recent years on his decisions related to the oil sector, in particular for having nationalized an oil pipeline in 2018.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
Canada
oceans
Oil
Economy
Climate change