Two years after the Pembina Institute outlined 19 steps toward responsible oilsands development in a report entitled Solving the Puzzle, very little progress has been made on the recommended policy improvements, according to an update released by the Institute today.

The health impact costs associated with burning coal for electricity in Alberta are close to $300 million annually according to a new report released today by a coalition of Canadian health and environmental groups.

A coalition of health and environmental groups will be announcing the results of a collaborative effort to quantify the health and climate costs associated with burning coal for electricity in Alberta — the first study of its kind in the province. Policy recommendations will be made following a presentation of the findings. 

As Canada faces increasing scrutiny of the weak climate change policy for oilsands development, a new report illustrates how the Alberta and federal governments can better manage those emissions and improve the country’s international reputation.

First Nations and environmental, recreation and grassroots groups supported by more than half a million Canadians today issued an open letter opposing the federal government’s controversial second omnibus bill, C-45, as the proposed legislation enters final rounds of debate in Parliament this week.

The Oil Sands Environmental Coalition (OSEC) — comprised of the Pembina Institute, the Alberta Wilderness Association and the Fort McMurray Environmental Association, and represented by Ecojustice — will present evidence this week that clearly demonstrates that the Shell Jackpine mine expansion is not in the public interest.

With public hearings into a proposed oilsands mine expansion set to begin today, a coalition of environmental groups is calling on the joint federal-provincial review panel to reject the project.

Simon Dyer, policy director at the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to the release of the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan.

After missing a mandatory legal deadline to submit a draft recovery strategy for woodland caribou by four years, the federal government has also failed to produce a final recovery strategy for woodland caribou on time.

Jennifer Grant, oilsands program director with Pembina Institute, made this statement in response to the joint Canada-Alberta update on oilsands monitoring.

This week the Pembina Institute is bringing Heidi Eijgel, an Alberta landowner with close to a decade of experience living next to wind turbines, on a speaking tour in Southern Ontario.

Ed Whittingham, executive director at the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to the federal government's passage of Bill C-38, the omnibus budget bill:

Canada’s “cheap” coal power carries considerable hidden costs.

In the Shadow of the Boom: How oilsands development is reshaping Canada’s economy reviews the extent to which oilsands production and exports are affecting Canada’s economy, and explores the longer-term economic implications of increased reliance on oilsands expansion to support economic growth and generate public revenue.

Chris Severson-Baker, Managing Director of the Pembina Institute, made the following comments in response to TransAlta’s announcement that the Pioneer Carbon Capture and Storage project will not proceed.

The Pembina Institute comments on Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver’s announcement that the federal government will weaken environmental oversight of resource development projects.

Simon Dyer, policy director at the Pembina Institute, will be available for interviews Tuesday, March 20, following his testimony at a U.S. Energy and Power subcommittee hearing on the future of energy technology with an emphasis on Canadian oilsands.

The fight to save woodland caribou herds threatened by oilsands development in northeastern Alberta is headed to Federal Court for the second time. Ecojustice, on behalf of the Pembina Institute and Alberta Wilderness Association, filed an application in the Federal Court today, seeking a court order to force Environment Minister Peter Kent to recommend emergency protection for the caribou and the habitat they need in order to survive.

Jennifer Grant, director of the Pembina Institute’s oilsands program, comments on the new joint Canada-Alberta implementation plan for oilsands monitoring.