Message From the Editor

The fossil fuel news out of Canada is mixed this week, as two stories from DeSmog journalist Taylor Noakes illustrate.

In the good-news column: Pressure is growing to ban fossil fuel ads. A broad coalition of campaigners are demanding that the city of Ottawa ban fossil fuel ads from public spaces. This follows on the heels of Canadian MP Charlie Angus’s proposal to ban misleading fossil fuel ads, as Taylor previously reported.

“The ads we’ve seen around the city make some pretty ridiculous claims,” William van Geest, program coordinator for Ecology Ottawa, told Taylor. (To get a flavor of the absurdity, check out the photos in Taylor’s new article.)

Recent Ottawa ads have been sponsored by Canada Action, a registered charity that has deep connections with the Conservative Party of Canada and the Canadian fossil fuel sector, despite claiming to be nonpartisan.

“These wildly misleading ads — that trick consumers into believing that oil and ‘natural’ gas from Canada is somehow cleaner and better for the world — threaten public health by stoking demand for a product that is literally killing my patients,” said Melissa Lem, a family physician and president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE).

Lem’s claim, unlike the ones in these recent ads, is backed up by reliable science: A 2021 study from Harvard estimated that air pollution from burning hydrocarbons is responsible for nearly 14 percent of premature deaths in Canada annually.

And yet — now we’re in the bad-news column — the Canadian government continues to throw tens of billions of dollars in subsidies at the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries. As one source put it to Taylor, ending these subsidies should be “the low hanging-fruit of climate policy.” Time for Trudeau to get picking!

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected]. Want to know what our UK team is up to? Sign up for our UK newsletter. 

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Readers like you support the work of DeSmog’s global team of journalists who report on pervasive and insidious efforts to delay needed climate action. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?

Image credit: Adam Jones/Flickr (CC BY 2.0 DEED)

'Cutting Through Carbon Capture Greenwash' SEJ Event

— Society of Environmental Journalists' Conference —

Attending the Society of Environmental Journalists’s annual conference in Philly next week? Mark your calendar for our #SEJ2024 panel “Cutting Through Carbon Capture Greenwash” on Friday, April 5 from 10:45 am - 12:00 pm! Panelists from DeSmog, Spotlight PA, the Ohio River Valley Institute, and Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania will go beyond the carbon capture and storage PR spin to reveal a track record of lackluster pilot projects, and growing evidence that fossil fuel companies are using CCS primarily to extract more oil — while adding to the industry’s record of environmental injustice. The panel is open to all conference attendees, no RSVP required. See you there!

Report: As Climate Crisis Expands, Canada Still Hands Billions to Fossil Fuel Industry

— By Taylor Noakes (5 min) —

Last year was one of the worst on record for climate change-related disasters, yet Canada’s federal government spent $18.6 billion supporting the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry.

A new report by the nonprofit Environmental Defence indicates that, despite record profits for the fossil fuel industry and Canadian claims to eliminate subsidies, the government of Justin Trudeau continues to spend massive quantities of public money supporting the primary cause of climate change.

Groups Pressure Ottawa to Ban Fossil Fuel Ads in Public Facilities

— By Taylor Noakes (7 min. read) —

Community organizations, environmental groups, and transit advocates are demanding the city of Ottawa ban fossil fuel advertising from public spaces.

Some of the slogans that have recently popped up in public facilities, billboards, and on buses and bus shelters throughout downtown Ottawa include: 

“Global Oil & Natural Gas Demand is Growing.”

“Our Allies are Asking for Canadian Energy.”

“As Long as the World Needs Oil & Gas, Shouldn’t it be Canadian?”

A Green New Shine for a Tired Playbook

— By Adam M. Lowenstein (5 min. read) —

When a corner of the internet comes to life, it always looks a bit different than you’d expect. It’s less snarky, less vitriolic, less apocalyptic. It’s decidedly more human. Sometimes, in fact, it’s downright pleasant, particularly when the place you encounter it is a pristine movie theater in the suburbs.

Earlier this week I traveled to the Angelika Film Center in Fairfax, Virginia, for the premiere of Climate the Movie: The Cold Truth, a new documentary film that promises to reveal the real story behind what the film calls “the climate scare” — in other words, the notion that human beings are changing the climate through our use of fossil fuels. Directed by climate denier filmmaker, Martin Durkin, the screening was organized by the CO2 Coalition, a nonprofit that promotes carbon dioxide as playing a “vital role . . . in our environment.” The Heartland Institute and Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) co-sponsored the event.

Fossil Fuel Lobby Kicks off Disinformation Campaign Against EPA Auto Emissions Rule

— By Adam M. Lowenstein (4 min. read) —

Fossil fuel interest groups have mobilized quickly to oppose a new rule issued by the Biden administration designed to speed up America’s transition to hybrid and electric vehicles.

The rule, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized on March 20, limits emissions from tailpipes on new cars, starting in 2027.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Canada Action

Canada Action is a Canadian federally-registered non-profit organization launched in 2012 that advances pro-oil and gas industry sentiments through public engagement and social media. The group was founded by Cody Battershill, a realtor from Calgary, Alberta. Battershill advocates for the oil and gas industry in Canada through mainstream and social media and uses online campaigning to generate public support for specific energy projects, like the Alberta tar sands, as well as pipelines and fossil fuel energy sources such as natural gas.

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database, Ad & PR Database, and Koch Network Database.