Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, and thank you for the invitation to participate today.

I want to first acknowledge that as I am in Toronto, I'm on the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. I am very grateful to be healthy and in good spirits, and I hope you are, too.

Today's topic is at the core of Shell's strategy, which supports our purpose to provide more and cleaner energy solutions as we work to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050. Shell Canada Limited has operated in Canada for over 100 years. We are an integrated energy company, offering products and services ranging from aviation fuels to sulphur and EV charging. We operate fuel refining and chemical facilities near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Sarnia, Ontario, and have nearly 1,500 branded mobility stations across Canada. Shell Canada also produces shale gas and liquids in Alberta and B.C. and is a joint venture participant in LNG Canada. We are also proud of our advancements in carbon capture and storage, CCS, and low-carbon fuels.

There's no question the global energy system is in transition—and so is Shell. The pace of our own transition will be guided by how fast we can adapt our businesses and will depend on external factors, such as progressive government policy and customer choice. We believe our strategy will transform Shell into a net-zero emissions energy business, creating value for our shareholders, customers and wider society. However, our operating plans can't reflect our 2050 target yet as this is outside our 10-year planning period. In the future, as society moves towards net-zero emissions, we expect Shell's operating plans to reflect this movement. If society as a whole doesn't get to net zero in the same time frame, however, there's a significant risk that Shell may not meet its target.

We recognize the importance of Canada's climate targets and the need for society, including companies like ours, to play a role. Shell Canada has joined the federal government's net-zero challenge, which recognizes businesses developing and implementing credible net-zero emissions plans.

Shell has laid out short- and medium-term climate targets in support of our “net-zero emissions by 2050” target. These targets are complemented by the ambition to help address scope 3 emissions, which come from customers' use of the oil products we sell. This means we are working to reduce our own emissions and shift our product offering towards low- and zero-carbon products. Already we are making good progress. Globally, by the end of 2023, we'd achieved more than 60% of our target to halve scope 1 and 2 emissions from our operations by 2030, compared with 2016.

Shell Canada is well positioned to deliver on our strategy here in Canada. We are decarbonizing our operations, for instance, through reducing methane emissions and incorporating renewable power, such as hydro, solar and wind power, and CCS.

Increasingly, we are also investing to increase the supply of low-carbon fuels and rolling out EV charging across the nation, in partnership with governments and communities.

We are also contemplating other investments, including a large-scale CCS project in Alberta.

Decarbonization projects must be investable. We believe society will not achieve the needed scale of emissions reductions if projects are highly reliant on government funding alone. Instead, companies need to develop business models that are plausible and profitable, and can unleash private capital, while working closely with governments. It's worth knowing that last year roughly 8% of Shell's global investment was in Canada. The majority of the spend was on the LNG Canada project, which will use natural gas and renewable electricity to reduce emissions from the plant by more than one-third compared with the world's best-performing facility when it starts up. LNG Canada is the largest private sector investment in Canadian history and a once-in-a-generation opportunity for first nations, local communities, and provincial and national economies.

Shell supports a balanced energy transition, one in which the world achieves net-zero emissions, while still providing a secure and affordable supply of energy today. To help manage affordability for all Canadians, it's vital we don't dismantle the current energy system faster than we can build the clean energy system of the future. By working together with effective government policies, we can help shift consumer demand to low-carbon products and develop the infrastructure and technology needed for the energy transition. Shell's ability to raise and invest capital through the energy transition depends on delivering strong shareholder returns. Governments and taxpayers can't and shouldn't fund the transition alone. If projects don't offer attractive returns, capital won't be invested.

In closing, Shell has a clear strategy to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 and has set clear targets to measure our progress. By making decarbonization projects investable, we can unleash further clean energy investment, which will ultimately benefit all Canadians.

I look forward to the discussions today.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.