Pipeline boss not sure of human/climate change link

Kinder Morgan Canada exec says he’s ‘read the science on both sides’

The president of the company that hopes to build the $6.8-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion says he doesn’t know whether humans are contributing to climate change.

Kinder Morgan Canada president Ian Anderson told the Vancouver Board of Trade on Thursday that there is disagreement about the degree to which people influence global warming.

“I’ve read the science on both sides and I don’t pretend to be smart enough to know which is right,” he said. “What I do know is the broad public, political view, societal view, is that over time, we as a race should reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. I think that’s a given.”

He made the remark during an onstage interview after delivering a keynote speech titled Pipeline Success: Getting to Yes Takes a Willingness to Listen and Learn.

Anderson reiterated his comments later to reporters, but said he accepts public opinion that over time the impact of fossil fuels should be minimized. “What I’m saying is: I don’t know enough to make that personal evaluation. I know there are arguments on both sides. I just know what public and private opinion are and I’m prepared to accept that.”

There is broad scientific consensus about the cause of climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations body that assesses the work of hundreds of scientists from across the globe, has concluded that human influence on the climate is clear.

Andrew Weaver, a climate scientist who was a lead author in several of the panel’s scientific assessments, said the problem with Anderson’s statement is that there isn’t science on both sides. There is ideology on one side and science on the other, he said.

“The science is clear. It’s been clear for decades,” said Weaver, who is also Leader of British Columbia’s Green Party and a member of the Legislative Assembly. “The fact that (Anderson) could say he’s read the science on both sides suggests to me he doesn’t understand what science is.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/FILES Encana Corps., which owns this well pad in Colorado, reported Q3 net earnings of $317 million on Thursday, compared with a net loss of $1.24 billion the year before.