Gas Companies in Canada Fake Sustainability Numbers – By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson (Mother Jones) / Aug 23, 2023
They used the fake erroneous to score a pipeline expansion.
This story was originally published by Canada’s National Observer and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Gas companies in two of Canada’s largest provinces are relying on reports with erroneous numbers and deleted information that make natural gas appear more sustainable and cost-effective than it actually is as they race to lock in fossil fuel infrastructure for decades.
Canada’s National Observer reported a supposedly independent, third-party report that Enbridge—Ontario’s gas utility—commissioned to argue for natural gas contains data that erroneously inflated the cost of switching from natural gas to electricity for home heating. The company has cited the inaccurate information to try to convince the utility commission and the public to let it expand natural gas pipe capacity in the province.
The findings came on the heels of the revelation last week by Glacier Media that FortisBC, BC’s gas utility, demanded a report be altered to remove information that noted heat pumps and electricity are more efficient ways to decarbonize. The company also instructed the report’s authors to remove a section stating Vancouver’s municipal ban on natural gas in new buildings should be introduced province-wide.
CONTINUE > https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2023/08/gas-companies-in-canada-fake-sustainability-numbers/
