CALGARY⁠ — Enbridge CEO Al Monaco says energy markets have hit a “major inflection point” after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as concerns over energy security put new emphasis on oil and gas supplies that could complicate the global transition away from fossil fuels.

His comments, during a speech in Toronto on Wednesday, come as a global supply shortage has pushed oil prices well above US$100 per barrel, which Monaco attributed in part to a “severe underinvestment in both conventional and low-carbon energy” in recent years. That has in turn led to deeper-rooted questions about the viability of a quick shift toward lower-emission sources of energy, particularly as European nations make costly efforts to curb their reliance on Russian oil and natural gas.

“We have just crossed a major inflection point in energy markets, and we are for sure in an energy crisis,” Monaco told a business crowd at an event hosted by Canadian Club Toronto. “Even if the war ends tomorrow, this is going to be a different energy market going forward.”

Major Canadian energy companies, including Enbridge, have committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, in line with the federal government’s targets. 

Most of the Calgary-based company’s holdings are oil and gas pipelines. Its natural-gas network stretches over 123,000 kilometres across North America and the Gulf of Mexico. But it has also invested over $8 billion in recent years to expand its renewables capacity, and now counts 23 wind farms and 17 solar facilities within its portfolio.

Oil executives and some politicians have used the energy crunch to promote the development of fossil fuels, saying they will remain a crucial piece of the energy mix for decades to come. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, pitching Canada as a stable supplier of oil and gas. 

But Keith Stewart, a senior energy strategist at Greenpeace Canada, said the heightened emphasis on oil and gas supply misinterprets the market shift. Energy-security concerns sparked by the Russian invasion should only hasten the conversion to emissions-free sources, he said, rather than bolster the natural-resources sector, as Monaco seemed to suggest. 

“It can either be seen as a cynical attempt by the oil industry to try and use the war in Ukraine to their own advantage, or as a fundamental misreading of what’s happening,” he said. 

“We’ve now seen that oil and gas is not secure. What is secure is wind and solar and other renewable sources, because no one can turn off your wind or turn off the sun in your country.”

European nations have sought to pivot away from natural gas and oil, but often over drawn-out timelines. The Netherlands recently announced plans to make hybrid home-heating systems mandatory from 2026. The EU has backed away from efforts to quickly ban gas-powered boilers, instead favouring a more gradual phase-out.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency recently warned that a “chronic” underinvestment in traditional energy sources like oil and gas has led to tight markets and higher prices, even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. The war, Monaco said, simply exposed that shortage and brought national security to the forefront.

“That single event dramatically brought energy security back into the spotlight where it hadn’t been for decades.”