When Alberta’s premier Rachel Notley announced a hard cap on carbon emissions to fight climate change last November, she was joined by execs from environmental groups and oil sands companies who came together in support of the policy.
“To me, what was important wasn’t only the policy,” said Brian Ferguson, CEO ofCenovus Energy, and one of the guys on stage that day. “We showed that the conversation about oil could be collaborative, not combative.”
Granted, there were angry complaints from advocates who’d argued for years that oil production and consumption was an ‘all or nothing’ proposition (and hadn’t participated in the latest negotiations). Ferguson is one of the energy industry leaders who not only understands that it’s unacceptable simply to agree to disagree on the issue, but that his company can show what’s possible by example.
“Cenovus absolutely recognizes and shares the public’s concern about climate change,” he explained. “Why shouldn’t we put our minds together to make oil a better product instead of presuming we could pole vault over it, and get to using renewables exclusively?”