Petition to Ban Gas Fracking

This petition closes for signature on March 21, 2021

SIGN THE PETITION NOW

On October 6th, I asked the government if it would ban the destructive practice of gas fracking in Canada. In his response to my question, the Minister of the Environment stated that the government will exceed its 2030 emission reduction targets. Exceeding a target that is woefully inadequate is not a win.

The Minister also stated that the government has introduced regulations to reduce methane emissions. I appreciate the acknowledgement that the federal government has a role in regulating the extractive practices of the energy industry. This is especially true when those practices poison groundwater and release climate-destroying greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Fracking is a process for extracting methane that cannot be controlled. Reducing methane emissions at the well head does not make fracking a safe and acceptable practice. Methane is a climate change accelerator. For the first 20 years after methane is leaked into the atmosphere, it is 80 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO2.

Using chemical fingerprints, researchers have linked a significant spike in methane emissions to the boom in shale and oil gas fracking. This spike is linked to the accelerating pace of climate change.

An estimated 30 million abandoned oil and gas wells around the world are leaking methane. Methane leaks represent as much of a climate threat as burning coal to generate electricity. I don’t see any provincial governments talking about building new coal-fired power plants. Why are some of them so fired up about fracked gas? The notion that exporting fracked gas to China will help the Chinese lower greenhouse gas emissions has been exposed as an outright lie. When will policy makers stop this dangerous thinking?

A new study published by Environment Canada researchers shows that Canada’s methane emissions are twice as high as previously estimated. Our methane budget is spent. We have already released too much of it into the atmosphere. We must act now to stop these emissions, not just lower them.

For all of the reasons I have outlined, many jurisdictions around the world have either placed moratoriums on fracking or banned it outright including France, Germany, Bulgaria, Scotland, the United Kingdom, Tunisia, New York, Vermont, and the list keeps growing.

Fracking poses a direct and immediate threat to our future and the future of our children and grandchildren. It’s time to ban fracking in Canada, because the only thing we should be accelerating is our transition to renewable energy.

Please sign and share this petition that I have sponsored to show your support.

---

Petition to the Government of Canada Whereas:

• Canada must transition away from fossil fuels in order to remain below the 1.5° warming threshold and prevent catastrophic climate change;

• Natural gas is a fossil fuel primarily composed of methane;

• Extracting natural gas through hydraulic fracking releases methane into the atmosphere;

• For the first 20 years after it is released, methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas;

• A recent study by Environment Canada researchers found that methane emissions from oil and gas operations in Western Canada were almost twice as high as previously thought;

• Enormous amounts of freshwater are consumed in the fracking process;

• Leaks of fracking fluid and poor management of fracking wastewater has resulted in widespread groundwater contamination;

• From at least as far back as 2016, the BC Oil and Gas Commission has been aware that waste water from fracking can contain hazardous levels of radioactive materials, and yet regulators do not require companies to test for radioactivity or to report on results of testing;

• Scientific studies have linked hydraulic gas fracking to increased risks of asthma, birth defects and cancer; and

• Due to these devastating environmental and health concerns, many jurisdictions around the world have either placed moratoriums on hydraulic gas fracking or banned it outright, including France, Germany, Bulgaria, Ireland, Scotland, the United Kingdom, Tunisia, New York State and Vermont State.

We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to: 1. ban hydraulic gas fracking in Canada; and 2. accelerate our transition to renewable energy.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE