Terry Newman: Mark Carney's climate obsessions will put Trudeau to shame

This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised a crowd in Edmonton that he would speed up pipeline-project approvals, reducing the waiting period from five to two years. But Carney has also told us he wants to keep an emissions cap on the oil and gas industry and industrial carbon tax, both of which are likely to deter potential investors in Canada’s energy projects. He’s also conceded that various competing interests would have to be consulted before any natural resource projects will be able to get off the ground, while failing to communicate any assurances he could get the job done to reassure investors.

For all of Carney’s supposed superior knowledge of the world and markets, the art of provincial negotiations and incentives for private investment in natural resources appears to have already escaped his grasp. There’s evidence to suggest this is because, at heart, Carney is likely to be a fully fledged ESG prime minister (ESG being short for environmental, social, and governance principles being imposed on business). -- More...