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Finding a reason for hope after disappointing Total oilsands mine approval
By Marc Huot, Pembina Institute
Monday, January 31, 2011
Read this blog post on the originating site
As Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach announced last week that he will not seek re-election, I allowed myself to dream of an Alberta with a provincial government willing to take its duty to regulate the oilsands industry more seriously. Unfortunately, just as I was starting to feel optimistic for the first time in a long while, news broke that the provincial and federal government’s Joint Review Panel had approved the Total Joslyn North Mine.
This approval highlights the fundamental issues with the oilsands regulatory system. First, the mine was approved despite having a flawed application [external link] that failed to accurately assess its environmental impacts. And second, it is simply irresponsible for the government to approve another large mine when it has already proven to be incapable of managing the impacts of the rapidly expanding oilsands industry.
These concerns were raised very clearly by the Royal Society of Canada only a month before this approval. The Royal Society report findings [external link] illustrated that the oilsands industry suffers from poor government oversight and that decisions are made with a lack of information, particularly on cumulative environmental effects.
The evidence that the provincial and federal governments need to take bold action to develop the oilsands responsibly has never been stronger.
Just last week, we saw the release of a report [external link] by the National Round Table on Energy and Environment, outlining the case for Canada to implement a made-in-Canada climate policy. The report notes that if Canada delays further in implementing greenhouse gas reductions, oilsands could be left at a competitive disadvantage if the U.S. implements a low-carbon fuel policy. To meet the standard proposed by California, oilsands suppliers would need to achieve a 20 per cent total reduction in carbon intensity in the next decade.
Tagged with: total, royal society of canada, regulation, mine, national roundtable on energy and environment
