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As the founder and CEO of a renewable energy company, I help drive clean energy development in Canada with more ambition than most. But I am a realist. And that also makes me — perhaps surprisingly — a staunch pipeline proponent.

Developing more efficient ways to transport energy and protecting the environment are not conflicting ideals. The energy sector is evolving. The world is transitioning toward renewable energy. But right now, it still needs fossil fuels to get there.

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Alberta’s oil and gas sector is highly innovative and is among the safest and most environmentally regulated in the world. If Canada is to be a true climate leader, we need to make our responsibly produced fossil fuels accessible to global markets.

Global consumption of oil and gas is not slowing down anytime soon, and continued opposition to pipelines in Canada will not curtail it. If anything, pipeline opposition erodes Alberta’s share of the global oil market, for the benefit of countries with far less stringent environmental standards. It encourages riskier, more expensive and emissions intensive modes of transportation, such as moving oil by rail, when the fact is that pipelines produce fewer emissions, are safer and cost producers far less. Pipelines even have the unique potential to become powered by renewable energy.