Dialogues on Canadian Energy podcasts

Two major developments since our last podcast:

• First on Paris, can you describe its major elements and how Canada chose to relate to them?
• What does the US withdrawal actually mean to the world’s progress towards lower GHG emissions over time?
• Does the Trump announcement change the challenge that Canada has in respect of meeting its Paris targets?
• Do you believe that the Trump administration has any credibility on a genuine renegotiation of the basic terms of the Paris Accord?
• Second, the BC leftist coalition – what does it mean potentially to Alberta?
• Can you elaborate on the challenge this will create for the Prime Minister? If he has to defend the rights of the project proponents, even as  he tries to keep his credibility on his “Paris targets”?
• How ugly could this get?
• How much empathy if any does Alberta get from the rest of Canada, especially Ontario and Quebec?

• NEB re-scoping of Energy East
• BC election uncertainty
• NEB Modernization Panel
• Federal climate policy clarification

Dennis, its been a while but what do you see has transpired over the first quarter on Canadian carbon and energy?

• Following up on KXL, what is your prognosis for it over the remainder of the year?
• On the US side, what could occur that may impact Canada?
• What is the risk related to an NDP victory in BC to Alberta and its hydrocarbon industry?

Dennis, can you review the events of this week on KXL?

What are the challenges ahead for TC to get to construction?

What will be the reaction of opponents? What tactics will they resort to?

Why does incremental pipeline infrastructure matter so much to Canadian ENGOs? 

Can you review the main points of what happened last week on Canadian carbon policy?

What do you see as the significants of what occurred?

What are your concerns from what came out of last week?

What are “next steps” for the Trudeau government in all of this?

And for Rachel Notley?

• Review what the Trudeau Government actually did?

• Regarding the Kinder approval, do you have an explanation of how they came to this decision?

• Why was Northern Gateway rejected?

•  Do you give Trudeau credit here? What, if anything, do you take issue with him over?

• What lies ahead? And is Trudeau up to dealing with it?

• And Ms Notley, is this a big victory for her personally?

• Is Canada a little less dysfunctional after this week?

• Does this change the thesis of your book, Dysfunction – Canada after Keystone XL?

• The unexpected happened on November 8^th. What does this mean for Canada, especially in its approach to energy and climate policy?  
• What do we actually know about Trump’s positions on climate and energy?
• Is a revival of Keystone XL the most significant development in the short run for Canada?  How will Trudeau and Notley react to that?
• Beyond that, can Canada sustain a carbon pricing standard if the US under Donald Trump is not?
• How do you see this playing out in Canada for 2017?

• Dennis, I know you have alluded to this is prior podcasts, but can you explain why the impending Kinder pipeline decision by the Trudeau government is so important?
• Can you elaborate on the considerations that are in play with this decisions, political, technical and legal?
• What recent developments have perhaps altered the likely decision?
• So, ultimately w do you see the outcome coming out? What do you see as the outcome?
• So, when is an approval not quite an approval? Expand on that?
• Finally, if an approval occurs, what do you see as the major consequences?

• Dennis, you believe the next 3 months are going to critical for Canada on climate and pipelines. Can you explain?
• For those of us, that don’t know, can you clarify the major pipeline projects still in play in Canada?
• For the Trudeau government, help us understand their climate “options” better right now.
• And the Notley government, where are they? Hanging out on market access?
• What is your prognosis over the next 3 months?
• How difficult do you think it will be for the Trudeau government? And who will support them?
• And what about industry and Canadian business? Where will they be on all of this?
• Tell us more about your book, Disfunction: Canada After Keystone XL due to be released January 2017.

This is the inaugural interview for Dialogues on Canadian Energy. Dennis McConaghy discusses the following items:

• Biography
• Vision for podcast
• Format and frequency
• Major issues
• Why Canadians should relate to this podcast
• Upcoming topics

Dennis McConaghy is a Canadian energy executive with nearly forty years of industry experience in infrastructure development. He has engaged in the evolution of Canadian energy and climate policy over thirty years, from the National Energy Program of 1980 to the Paris Climate Conference of 2015. As one of the senior executives of TransCanada Pipelines, he was directly involved in conceiving and executing the Keystone XL pipeline project.

Dennis's book Disfunction: Canada after Keystone XL will be available January 2017. The book is an investigation of the history and demise of the most controversial North American energy infrastructure project. 

Visit http://doce.ca for more Dialogues on Canadian Energy