|
Rail boss: fossil fuels ‘probably dead’
Fossil fuels are “probably dead,” although the transition to renewable energy sources is a long way off, said Hunter Harrison, the man who turned around both of Canada’s largest railroads.
He predicted to a transportation conference in New York in mid-March that investments in traditional energy sources will dry up because of environmental hurdles.
“I think it’s a challenge going forward, but rails have historically dealt with those changes really well through the years and continue to survive and make it,” Harrison said.
He noted that adjusting to a shift to alternative energy will require the rail industry to follow its own example in the 1990s when the U.S. Clean Air Act wiped away 29 percent of the business at Illinois Central Railway that he ran at the time.
Harrison later occupied the chief executive officer’s post at Canadian National Railway before moving to the top job at Canadian Pacific Railway three years ago.
His mandate in all cases has been to turn the companies into leaner operations and modernize them.
Last year CP Rail rewarded him with C$19.9 million in compensation, even though its share values dropped over the period.
Reference to trend A company spokesman said Harrison was referring in New York to an “overwhelming trend” towards sustainable energy and the need for all segments of the economy to acknowledge the ever-changing landscape.
“I’m not maybe as green as I should be,” Harrison acknowledged, but added “the climate is changing and they’re not going to fool me anymore.”
Greenpeace welcomed Harrison’s view, saying it marked a reversal from the 1990s when railroads denied global warming because they relied too much on coal shipments.
Keith Stewart, the organization’s head of climate and energy campaigns, said Harrison is “just recognizing the new realities and looking to where the puck is going rather than where it has been.”
He said Canada’s political leaders would “do well to recognize that renewable energy is the way of the future and we need to be looking at how we can prepare for a world that is going beyond fossil fuels.”
CP Rail has reported a recent decline in shipments of crude oil due to declining demand brought on by the fall in commodity prices, while thermal coal shipments have also waned.
- Gary Park
| 