Doctors prescribe fines for natural gas ‘greenwashing’ | Corporate Knights: If you follow @FuellingCanada on Twitter,
you might have read recently that “Canada ranks as a world leader in
responsible natural gas production.” If you click on the link to their
website, you’ll find a host of disinformation describing how “Canada’s
natural gas industry works 24/7 to ensure affordable, clean, and
reliable energy for families and businesses.”

This might seem like typical fossil fuel industry marketing. But not
to Canadian physicians, who are increasingly concerned about the
climate-warming dangers of methane, the primary ingredient in natural
gas production, and the health risks of burning natural gas in home
appliances such as stove tops and water heaters. Rather than dismiss
“clean gas” propaganda as the last gasp of a desperate industry, the
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) is
fighting the industry’s climate claims with an ambitious bid to
establish “greenwashing” as unacceptable – and maybe, eventually,
illegal.

In November, the federal Competition Bureau announced it will investigate a complaint filed in September
by six doctors, nurses and public health advocates who accused the
Canadian Gas Association (CGA) of misleading consumers by aggressively
promoting its products as “clean” and “affordable.” The complaint asked
the bureau to force the CGA and its member companies (which include
Enbridge, Epcor and TC Energy) to stop advertising natural gas as clean
and affordable, issue a retraction and pay a $10-million fine.

While it’s unclear how long the bureau’s investigation will take,
CAPE is gearing up for a battle, says campaign director Leah Temper.
“We’re trying to de-normalize the fossil fuel industry, so there will
certainly be a lot of pushback.”