2024/10/07 by Louis Massé · 1 voice
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Energy · Environmental Science · #Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics #Geological Studies and Exploration #Global Energy and Sustainability Research
paper · doi:10.1080/09644016.2024.2413345
openalex publication_date 2024/10/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/16
Canada is the world’s fourth largest producer of oil and fifth largest producer of natural gas. Yet, the country faces a ‘twin’ challenge in tackling the climate crisis. On the one hand, Canada’s federal climate goals state that it must achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. On the other hand, regionalism stronghold in fossil-producing provinces lead to difficult trade-offs between an ambitious climate transition and reluctant actors supporting the fossil fuel industry. This situation is characterized as ‘fossilized’ petro-provinces by political scientist Angela Carter. This article explores how Alberta, Canada’s largest oil and natural gas producer, became fossilized. The article develops a path dependence argument organized around the role of regionalism in Alberta’s political development. Regionalism is a crucial persistent feature of Alberta to explain its fossilization because it influenced the formation of an interdependence between the government and the industry, a distinct political culture, and a conservative-led party system.