I am surprised there was no discussion about
this agreement.
Quote:
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The G7 leading industrial nations have agreed to cut greenhouse gases by phasing out the use of fossil fuels by the end of the century...
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If this does happen, investment in Alberta energy industry will start shrinking and the economic recovery everyone is anticipating soon may not occur at all. This could mean prolonged period of negative in-migration and, in short, a recession. Being skeptical is OK; we all know how much respect did Kyoto accord receive in the past. Also, it is clear that countries without strong resource base raise the rhetoric and push for this agreement harder as they stand to benefit more from internationally supported investment in non-fossil fuel development.
Still, the huge questions are starting to pop-up more and more:
- How do you see Alberta surviving the loss of its primary economic driver?
- Do you see Alberta developing into something other than resource-based economy? How? Why did it not happen so far?
- Is it reasonable to expect our O&G industry to transform naturally into chemical/pharmaceutical etc. industry utilizing the existing hard assets and technological bases?
- On a personal level, many of us are somehow dependent on the success of the Alberta energy industry in one way or another. Do you see yourself and your family moving out of Alberta, if it becomes a stagnating economy?
This could be an interesting discussion if we steer clear of the validity of human impact on climate change arguments and general bitching.