The Fraser Institute – Canada’s answer to the worst oil company apologists among the U.S. think tanks- is preaching panic over U.S.presidential candidates’ promises to finally begin to address global warming.

“No matter which candidate emerges the victor come November, Canada will likely confront an administration that is less friendly to its petroleum products than its predecessors have been,” writes the Fraser Institute’s oily Diane Katz.

Katz is the Fraser Institute’s Director of Risk, Environment, and Energy Policy Studies, but it’s pretty clear that she doesn’t care about risk or the environment. She complaints that “both McCain and Obama vow
to replace fossil fuels with so-called (my emphasis) renewable energies such as wind and solar
power—neither of which is as cheap to produce or readily available.”

She also notes that Obama and McCain have both set emission reduction targets of 80 per cent and 60 per cent respectively for 2050 – 42 years from now, and she adds, “Canadians should hope that the United States does not come anywhere close to meeting such targets, given that zero emission substitutes are in short supply.

Clearly, the Fraser Institute is banking on Canada’s oil industry and is committed to a total lack of technological innovation in the next four decades. And as to what effect such a plan might have on the state of the earth? Well, our risk and environment expert overlooks both issues entirely. Very balanced.

Hat tip to David Beers at TheTyee.com for digging this up.