As a physician advocating for planetary health and environmental health researcher, I find Prime Minister Mark Carney’s persistence in referring to liquified natural gas (LNG) as a “transition fuel” deeply distressing. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The gas he so enthusiastically promotes is a fossil gas called “methane.” International scientific consensus has identified methane as the greatest driver of the short- term global warming, more than 80 times greater than C02 in the short term (i.e., over the next 10-20 years).
The next 10-20 years are the years that count for humanity’s efforts to reduce global warming.
So, how does this dangerous gas, methane, get released into the atmosphere?
It turns out that the largest source of methane comes from incomplete flaring, deliberate venting and “fugitive emissions” of gas during its extraction, processing, transportation and distribution.
The World Health Organization has identified climate change as a fundamental threat to human health.
The World Economic Forum estimates that climate change causes more than half a million direct heat-related deaths annually.
Methane gas in British Columbia and Alberta is a fossil gas produced through a technique called “fracking,” in which large amounts of water laced with sand and chemicals are pushed down a drilled well for long distances under high pressure, producing micro-cracks in the shale or “tight rocks” and thereby releasing the gas.
Canada is the sixth largest producer of methane gas worldwide. A decision to expand this industry will lead to increasing rates of methane release and worsening climate change. The industry assertion that fracked methane gas is cleaner than coal regarding its overall GHG effects has been contradicted by credible scientific analyses. United Nations climate scientists identify methane gas as the single biggest driver of climate change over the short term.
Wildfires are currently raging in B.C. and Ontario and all provinces experience extreme heat, wildfires, wildfire smoke and catastrophic flooding with growing frequency. In B.C., more than 600 British Columbians died as a direct result of the 2021 heat dome. The Lower Mainland population experienced 44 days of air quality advisories and seven heat advisories between 2021 and 2025.
The human health harms associated with wildfire smoke exposure include: increased risk of lung and heart disease, congenital birth defects, pre-term birth, cancers, dementia and other cognitive decline and overall mortality.
The synergistic effects of exposure to wildfire smoke and heat events concurrently are only starting to be understood. One study that examined the population in southwestern B.C. exposed to heat and even mild levels of smoke reported a seven-fold higher risk of mortality.
Carney’s persistent characterization of methane as a “transition gas” is a misnomer and disrespects climate science. Even worse, the term’s use spreads misinformation both in the media and among decision-makers at all levels of government.
Indeed, the only “transition” methane gas and LNG will provide is more frequent and intense extreme climate events and the resulting threats to population health and safety.
