Pembina Institute's Oilsands News

Pembina reacts to new joint oilsands monitoring plan (media release)

Jennifer Grant, Julia Kilpatrick — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

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

Groups ask Federal Court to force Environment Minister’s hand on caribou (media release)

Simon Dyer, Ecojustice, Alberta Wilderness Association — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Environment Minister Peter Kent’s failure to reconsider emergency protection for woodland caribou in northeastern Alberta has prompted environmental groups to ask for the Federal Court’s help.

Market access just one hurdle facing oilsands pipeline proponents (blog)

Nathan Lemphers — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:47:46 +0000

As the pipeline debate on this side of the border shifts to the fate of the Northern Gateway proposal, the U.S. government’s rejection of the Keystone project shows that Canada faces real barriers in getting oilsands to market — and, despite what some pundits say, those barriers are not just political.

U.S. decision on Keystone XL pipeline took climate consequences into account (blog)

Jennifer Grant — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:34:36 +0000

The Obama administration’s surprise decision to deny the proposed Keystone XL pipeline created quite the media storm yesterday, and for good reason.

In defending the decision, the president highlighted the risks the project could pose to “the health and safety of the American people and [to] the environment,” and the need to adequately review those concerns. And while a wide range of responses surfaced from the Republicans, Democrats, public opinion leaders and local interest groups, one story in particular caught our eye.

Pembina reacts to Obama administration's denial of Keystone XL pipeline (media release)

Ed Whittingham, Julia Kilpatrick — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Ed Whittingham, executive director at the Pembina Institute, responds to the Obama administration’s denial of the application for the Keystone XL pipeline.

The truth about our funding (blog)

Ed Whittingham — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:01:20 +0000

An open letter from the Pembina Institute to Canadians

Dear friends,

As you may have noticed, the Harper government and the “Ethical Oil Inc” front group have been working to discredit groups like the Pembina Institute and our work on energy issues by claiming that we are a “foreign-funded,” “radical” organization advocating against the best interests of Canadians.

Allow us to set the record straight.

Government statements on Gateway hearings show Canada is open for business, closed to criticism (op-ed)

Nathan Lemphers — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Apparently Canada is open for business but closed to criticism, no matter how constructive. This is the clearest conclusion that can be drawn from Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver’s open letter to Canadians, in which he attacks advocates of responsible oil-sands development as “radicals” and dismisses the concerns of thousands of Canadians who want to have a say in the decision of whether to build Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.

New report finds Alberta must strengthen emissions rules to meet climate commitments (media release)

Simon Dyer, Marc Huot, David Dodge — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

In the most comprehensive assessment of Alberta’s climate change policies to date, a new report by the Pembina Institute concludes that Alberta’s current approach will deliver less than one third of the greenhouse gas reductions the Government of Alberta has committed to, but strengthening current policies could enable the province to meet its climate targets.

Responsible Action? An assessment of Alberta’s greenhouse gas policies provides a detailed evaluation of current regulations and financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, and identifies key opportunities for the Government of Alberta to strengthen its approach to climate change.

Attacks on environmental group supporters are disingenuous and disturbing (blog)

Ed Whittingham — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:41:37 +0000

Yesterday the reputation of the Pembina Institute and that of the British government was attacked in a column by Kathryn Marshall, a professional oilsands booster. It doesn’t seem too much to ask of someone who regularly writes commentary in the news media to do a little fact checking. However, this basic journalistic standard appears to have escaped Marshall, as her commentary repeats many misleading or downright false statements about the Pembina Institute and the nature of our work.

Shell's "too good to be true" environmental assessment leaves decision-makers relying on faulty data (blog)

Simon Dyer — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:13:16 +0000

Imagine you were considering getting a mortgage and your bank offered you a fixed interest rate at five per cent. You sign up, but when you go to make your first payment, the fine print states you are actually being charged 60 per cent interest. Would you feel cheated? Would you be able to handle a 12-fold spike in rates? And if you had realized the true cost, would you have signed those mortgage papers in the first place?

That's the situation facing a joint regulatory panel Alberta and Canada established to review the environmental impacts of the next massive 100,000 barrel-per-day oilsands mine, proposed by Shell north of Fort McMurray.

Raising the bar on the Gateway pipeline (blog)

Nathan Lemphers — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:30:17 +0000

With the U.S. Department of State's decision on the Keystone XL pipeline delayed until 2013, much of the attention in Canada has been shifting west towards Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline to the B.C. coast. After the Keystone XL announcement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was quick to threaten to ship oilsands crude to Asia — a point the Prime Minister will likely repeat when he meets with President Obama tomorrow.

New report highlights dangers associated with tar sands pipeline to British Columbia (media release)

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

A new report highlights the dangers associated with transporting tar sands oil by Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway project, both along the pipeline pathway and on B.C.'s sensitive coast, which massive oil tankers would be navigating for the first time. The report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Pembina Institute and Living Oceans Society has also been endorsed by nine British Columbia organizations.

Pipeline and tanker trouble (publication)

Living Oceans Society, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Nathan Lemphers — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

This report highlights the environmental risks associated with the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, which would carry more than half a million barrels of raw oilsands crude oil (known as bitumen) daily across important salmon-bearing rivers, coastal rainforests, and sensitive marine waters in British Columbia.

Pembina reacts to Alberta’s new oilsands information portal (media release)

Simon Dyer, Julia Kilpatrick — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

The Pembina Institute responds to the launch of the Government of Alberta's new oilsands information portal.

Pembina reacts to additional review of proposed Keystone XL pipeline (media release)

Dan Woynillowicz — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

The Pembina Institute responds to the U.S. Department of State's announcement regarding additional review of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Fuel for Change: Could Europe's fuel rules force Canada to clean up the oilsands? (blog)

Marc Huot — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:37:11 +0000

While Canada and Alberta are lobbying against the recent EU Commission decision to assign a specific value for bitumen, sending federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver to Paris and London last week to persuade the EU to rethink the directive, we believe that Europe should stand firm, for the following reasons.

Pembina reacts to new report from federal environment commissioner (media release)

Matt Horne, Nathan Lemphers — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Representatives of the Pembina Institute comment on new reports from the federal environment commissioner, concerning Canada's record on climate action and oilsands environmental issues.

Oilsands protests driven by lack of progress (blog)

Dan Woynillowicz — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:01:57 +0000

Today’s protest in Ottawa and the sit-in at the White House this past month send a strong signal to Canadian and U.S. decision makers that the environmental risks and impacts from expanding oilsands development and associated pipelines are not being adequately addressed.

Keystone XL in context: oilsands and environmental management (publication)

Jennifer Grant, Nathan Lemphers, Lindsay Fischer — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Filling the proposed KXL pipeline with oilsands will result in nearly a 50 per cent increase in oilsands production. Until environmental management of the oilsands is improved, KXL will cause significant environmental harm due to increased oilsands production.

These briefing materials provide a summary on the impact of oilsands development on land, species at risk, First Nations, water and tailings and greenhouse gases.

Thinking outside the pipeline: Why American decision-makers must consider the true costs of Keystone XL (blog)

Nathan Lemphers — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 07:00:00 +0000

The clock is ticking for the U.S. State Department to evaluate the proposed Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline.