OTTAWA – Canada’s Natural Resources Minister says it would be messy, expensive, and would involve more pollution to shut down Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline.
The state of Michigan has ordered Calgary-based Enbridge to shut down the Line 5 pipeline or face financial consequences.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has threatened to go after Enbridge’s profits if the order is ignored.
The Line 5 pipeline remains open with Enbridge saying it will only shut down the pipeline if a judge orders it to do so,
Seamus O’Regan says it could take two months or longer to find other shipping methods if the pipeline that runs between Michigan and Ontario is turned off.
He adds they will need a number of trucks and there will also be an increase in rail, saying “it’s a lot to substitute for Line 5.”
The Line 5 pipeline delivers nearly half of the oil needs of Ontario and Quebec as well as propane to the state of Michigan.
Whitmer says she fears an environmental catastrophe in the Straits of Mackinac where Line 5 crosses the Great Lakes.
Meantime a new report by the International Energy Agency says immediate action is needed to reshape the world’s energy sector in order to meet ambitious climate goals by 2050.
The report says this includes ending investments in new coal mines as well as oil and gas wells.
The Paris-based organization says there is a narrow but viable pathway for building a global energy sector with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
