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Pembina’s take on the outcome of the UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal and next steps |
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 The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal wrapped up last week. Matthew Bramley, Pembina’s climate change director, stated: “The international community has taken a critical step towards the deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions essential to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. . . . We congratulate Minister Dion for his determination and leadership in securing this success.”
However, Pembina remains deeply concerned with the Government of Canada’s inadequate progress to date in implementing its plan to meet its initial Kyoto target during 2008–2012.
Read the news release
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Oil Sands Fever — Pembina sets publishing record with the launch of new website and “best-selling” book |
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 The Pembina Institute's new book Oil Sands Fever: The Environmental Implications of Canada's Oil Sands Rush was downloaded from the Internet more than 14,000 times within one week of its publication. The immediate popularity of this book surpasses any other book published by Pembina. Oil Sands Fever is a comprehensive look at the intense development taking place in Canada's abundant oil sands resource in northern Alberta and the environmental consequences. A 20-minute video, slide show and stunning images of oil sands operations are all available for free.
Visit oilsandswatch.com.
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Oil sands workshop at UN Conference presents concerns over greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands operations |
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Climate change director Matthew Bramley, oil sands expert Dan Woynillowicz and executive director Marlo Raynolds teamed up at the Montreal Climate Change Conference to present the climate implications of the oil sands operations. Oil sands operations are expected to triple in size in the next 10 years and are the “elephant in Canada's climate change room” says Marlo Raynolds. The scale and pace of development of oil sands will be responsible for 47% of the growth in Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2010 making Canada’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions virtually unachievable without taking serious measures to improve the efficiency of operations and offsetting unavoidable emissions.
Read the background report.
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A dozen Canadian environmental organizations lay out minimum conditions for oil sands development |
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During the Montreal conference, a dozen environmental organizations signed a declaration laying out the minimum conditions for oil sands development. One of the conditions requires oil sands operations to be carbon neutral by 2020.
Read the news release and download the declaration.
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Using the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to help meet emissions targets and promote sustainable development |
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Photo credit: Solar Electric Light Fund
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Pembina hosted two side events at the Montreal Climate change conference featuring our innovative CDM capacity building initiatives in Africa and showing how improvements to the CDM process could help ensure that the CDM is available to smaller scale projects in least developed countries.
Significant progress was made to increase the capacity of the CDM so that it can meet the increasing demand for emission reduction credits while still providing sustainable development benefits. Canada's emissions are currently 24% above the Kyoto target, and only two years remain before the target begins to apply. Canada
will need to buy a significant volume of international credits to meet its Kyoto obligation using Kyoto mechanisms like the CDM. Pembina advocates that these credits be purchased from projects and programs that advance international development goals as well as provide emissions reductions.
Read Pembina's papers:
Strengthening the CDM
Delivering Sustainable Development Benefits Through the CDM
Visit our CDM web page to learn more about the CDM and download
details of our COP side event (available soon)
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Renewable energy and energy efficiency must be the cornerstones of future climate change strategies |
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Pembina is a founding member of the new Canadian Renewable Energy Alliance (CanREA). CanREA and two international NGOs sponsored a two-day Renewable Solutions conference on renewable energy and climate change to coincide with the Montreal climate change conference. Participants from around the world discussed strategies to advance a global transition to renewable energy. CanREA presented recommendations on the role renewable energy and energy efficiency could play in a future climate change regime at an official side event on December 3 attended by 130 people.
For more information on CanREA and the outcomes of the Renewable Solutions Conference visit www.canrea.ca
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Wind Power by Pembina powers UN Climate Change Conference and meets half-way mark in goal of powering 20,000 computers! |
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Pembina rebukes The Ontario Power Authority’s emphasis on risky polluting power instead of conservation and renewable energy |
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 The electricity supply plan for Ontario’s focus on nuclear power and potential long-term negative impacts instead of conservation, renewable energy and sustainability should be subject to rigorous public review,” says Mark Winfield, Pembina Senior Policy Analyst.
Read the release.
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Oil Sands Fever: The Environmental Implications of Canada's Oil Sands Rush
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This book explores the disconnect between rapidly developing oil sands operations and Canada’s inaction on combatting climate change. The implications for Alberta's water resources; the dramatic impact on Canada's boreal forest; the effects of pollution on the region's forests, people and wildlife; the role governments have played in promoting development; and Canada's global responsibility to develop the oil sands in a responsible manner and in the context of a transition to an economy based on sustainable energy are also explored.
Free download.
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The Case for Deep Reductions: Canada's Role in Preventing Dangerous Climate Change
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 What role should Canada play in the long-term, global effort to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions? That’s the question author Matthew Bramley poses and answers in this report. The report reviews the maximum levels we can allow GHGs to reach in the atmosphere, the amount by which the world will have to reduce emissions to keep within those levels, and reasonable ways to share out emission reductions between industrialized and developing countries.
What targets should Canada adopt? How do we get there? Read the report.
Ce document est disponible en français
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Counting Canada's Natural Capital: Assessing the Real Value of Canada's Boreal Ecosystems
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 If
we had an accounting system that could measure
the services that the boreal forest provides,
what would it look like? This report. prepared
by the Pembina Institute for the Canadian Boreal
Initiative examines the goods and services
provided by Canada’s boreal region including
water storage and purification, climate regulation
and carbon storage. If we can more clearly
recognize the economic value of these services.
better economic decisions can be made and ecosystems
such as the boreal forest will be valued and
protected.
Free download.
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Carbon Capture and Storage: A Canadian Primer
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 There is growing industry and government interest in carbon sequestration and storage as a way of meeting greenhouse gas reduction targets. And there is talk of building a taxpayer-assisted CO2 pipeline in Western Canada. Authors Mary Griffiths and Paul Cobb explain the process of pumping carbon dioxide underground and its role in enhanced oil recovery. The report concluded that while it is “an arrow in the quiver,” it is not a silver bullet that will solve the climate change challenge.
Free download.
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Towards a Sustainable Electricity System for Ontario? A Provincial Progress Report
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 It’s time for the 2nd annual review of Ontario’s progress towards a sustainable electricity system. Once again Ontario is talking but not acting on the need and potential to conserve energy. The Province's actions have been overwhelmingly focused on securing new supplies of electricity: $10.5 billion has been committed to supply vs. $163 million on conservation initiatives.
Download the report for more details.
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