Barack Obama speaks in Calgary

Mar 5, 2019 | 3:59 PM

CALGARY – Former U-S President Barack Obama has told a crowd in the heart of Canada’s oilpatch that there needs to be a switch to cleaner energy sources.

Obama says failure to do so will lead to global chaos that is hard to reverse.

He made the comments during a speech in Calgary.

He says oil and gas have provided a cheap, abundant source of energy since the Industrial Revolution.

But he says there’s also indisputable evidence that the planet is getting warmer.

Obama says that could lead to millions of migrants fleeing violence, poverty and disease.

And he says that will make global politics more toxic.

But Obama says he’s optimistic that the same engineering skills that have been used to tap tough-to-access oil and gas can be used in the energy transition.

The crowd in the nearly full arena applauded frequently during his speech and gave him a standing ovation at the end.

by The Canadian Press