Our current global instability, most recently driven by the Iran war and what it has done to energy markets, has again cast the entire issue of “Net Zero” into question. For the last few years, there have been many countries and organizations backing off on net zero goals they established in the past. Most of this has taken place because, after a few years of attempting to implement policies advocated by environmental advocates and sympathetic politicians in many countries, it became painfully clear that these policies were lowering standards of living, making life much more difficult for average citizens and accomplishing little if anything for the environment.
Here are some recent examples. Canadian Prime Minister Carney’s creation GFANZ (Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero), a consortium of global banks committed to base their lending practices on environmental criteria instead of conventional banking benchmarks, collapsed last year. The European Union has significantly watered down its Electric Vehicle (EV) mandate to force Europeans to buy EVs recently. Canada has also changed its EV mandate, although it appears that the new criteria could be just as bad as the previous ones, just pushed a few years into the future.
Some news out of the UK in recent weeks noted that about 40 Labour MPs asked their leader Prime Minister Keir Starmer to water down its net zero commitments as they were impoverishing families. This came from Labour government representatives, who have favoured more net zero policies in the past. Also in the UK, public opinion polling showed a vast majority of British citizens supported drilling in the North Sea, something the Labour government has previously opposed.
Data that has been compiled by climate science critic Roger Pielke Jr. over the past few years also contains some interesting conclusions regarding the need for punitive climate policies. For instance, in 2025 death rates from weather and climate disasters were the lowest ever recorded. Although the climate zealots continue to state that global warming is the biggest threat, the data show that more deaths are a result of excessively cold temperatures than warm ones. Pielke also observes that despite warnings of more hurricanes, tornadoes and floods because of climate change, the facts do not support any increase in these extreme weather events.
One perverse effect of climate change policies that has been pointed out by Pielke among others is the continued impoverishment of third-world countries. Many developed countries have tied their foreign aid to less developed nations to such things as the establishment of more wind turbines, solar panels etc., and not in providing more reliable and affordable fossil fuel energy to these countries. The result has been an increase in costly, unreliable energy for these countries which has done little if anything to improve standards of living and boost their economies.
The Iran war has served to focus the mind on energy issues, not to mention many other things. Oil and gas prices have more than doubled, causing some countries to increase their dependence on coal, an energy source with higher emissions than oil or gas. Never has Justin Trudeau’s absurd statement back in 2022 that there was “no business case” for exports of liquid natural gas (LNG) looked more idiotic than the present. Canada has lost an enormous opportunity to enrich its own citizens while helping its allies around the world by providing them with affordable, reliable fossil fuel energy. Despite this, our current Liberal government under Carney continues to rag the puck on the approval and construction of much-needed pipelines in Canada.
Despite all the evidence that net zero is an abject failure, has contributed to global instability, lowered standards of living, perpetuated poverty in less developed countries and that the costs by far exceed the minimal benefits, the Canadian Liberal government continues to claim it will adhere to the goal of achieving zero emissions on a net basis by 2050. As the years go by and this deadline comes closer, the more ridiculous it appears to be. As other countries abandon their net zero pretentions, why do the Liberals want to persist in inflicting it on Canadians?
One of the policies tied to net zero goals will hit Canadians in the next couple of days. The Carney government plans to increase the industrial carbon tax by 16 per cent to $110/tonne on April 1. This is estimated to increase the cost of gas at the pumps by seven cents per litre at a time when gas prices are already at record highs. As the price of energy factors into pretty much every other price in our economy, this industrial carbon tax hike will also increase inflation, including that on food. Food inflation in Canada is already the highest in the G7, and the last thing beleaguered Canadians need is more cost increases in such essential areas.
Ironically, April 1 will also see MPs get a whopping big raise of about five per cent in their already generous compensation. It will even cost more to drown your sorrows, as April 1 is also the day the automatic escalator on liquor prices increases. This should be criminal as no tax should be automatically increased in a supposed democracy without Parliamentary oversight. It is difficult to believe that any government claiming to serve the Canadian people would go forward with such terribly damaging policies. What is even more incredible is that so many Canadians seem to be planning to vote for this appalling Liberal government again.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
