QUEBEC - British Columbia is leading the pack of Canadian provinces on climate change plans with its carbon tax while Alberta is the laggard, a report released Wednesday by the David Suzuki Foundation says.
As the premiers gathered in Quebec City for the Council of the Federation, where climate change is one of the hot topics, the conservation group issued a report card assessing the efforts of each province.
The report gives a good rating to Quebec, Manitoba and Ontario for their policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Not surprisingly, Alberta - which has no plan to cut back on emissions - rated the worst, with Saskatchewan not far from the bottom.
Suzuki Foundation says Alberta lags in commitment to improving environment
Jason Fekete, Calgary Herald
Published: Wednesday, July 16, 2008
CALGARY - Alberta’s carbon-intensive oilsands and weak climate-change policies have made it the environmental laggard in Canada, according to a new report from David Suzuki Foundation.
The environmental think-tank released the document Wednesday morning in Quebec City, as Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial premiers gather there for the Council of the Federation conference.
It finds that most provinces - namely British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba and Ontario - have set stronger climate-change targets than the federal government and are outperforming Ottawa on the file.
Suncor’s on-site oilsands refinery near Fort McMurray
Made in America energy policyTheStar.com - Opinion - Made in America energy policy
July 15, 2008
Linda McQuaig
When Americans want something that lies in another country, the consequences for that other country can be severe.
Even if they don’t actually invade, they put a lot of pressure on lesser countries to behave as they want.
Canada, for instance, hasn’t been invaded by the United States since 1812, but Ottawa has proved highly co-operative with Washington’s desire to have access to our oil. We are America’s Number 1 supplier.
Pressure for Canadian acquiescence in servicing America’s apparently bottomless energy appetite is only going to get more intense, as fresh panic sweeps across America over skyrocketing oil prices and supply insecurity. Oddly, the Bush administration continues to flirt with the idea of making oil supplies even more insecure by launching a military strike against Iran.
Natural environment trumps drilling in Queen Charlotte Basin, band warns
Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
A “new world oil order” may be emerging for oil, but one of the world’s indigenous oldest communities isn’t prepared to race into it.
Arnie Bellis, vice-president of the Council of the Haida Nation, said in an interview on Monday that the skyrocketing value of oil and gas resources off the British Columbia coast holds little interest for his people compared to the natural environment they have resolved to protect.
“We’re on record as being against the development of gas and oil in our territory — in any territory that would have an impact on our environment,” Bellis said in an interview from the Queen Charlotte Islands, known to the first nation as Haida Gwaii.
Technology, markets to drive rise in Canadian oil sands production
Steven Poruban Senior Editor
CALGARY, July 16 — Production of Canadian oil sands bitumen will continue to rise in the coming decades but not without advances in processing technologies and the adoption by producers of varied strategies to market the resulting heavy crude blends.
These were some of the issues raised by speakers July 15 during the opening session of the second annual Oil Sands & Heavy Oil Technologies Conference & Exhibition in Calgary. The inaugural 2-day conference, held in July 2007, also in Calgary, drew more than 880 oil sands executives and senior personnel and more than 50 exhibitors.
Tensions were palpable at the opening session regarding one topic in particular—yet to be discussed fully by conference delegates—likely to serve as this year’s 900-lb gorilla sitting in the middle of industry’s living room: growing concerns in Canada about “finicky talk in the US about the type of oil it allows to cross its borders.
This hot-button topic has its impetus in a resolution adopted last month by the US Conference of Mayors modeled on a section in last year’s Energy Independence and Security Act that raised alarm about potential environmental drawbacks of oil sands. The resolution calls for bans on purchases for use in city vehicles of any fuel with life-cycle emissions of greenhouse gases deemed excessive (OGJ, July 7, 2008, p. 21). Canadian oil sands producers’ concerns hinge largely on such a resolution gaining serious political steam during an already strongly polarized presidential election in the US.
Ottawa far behind provinces on climate change: report
BRIAN LAGHI
Globe and Mail Update
July 16, 2008 at 1:07 PM EDT
QUEBEC — A leading environmental organization says Ottawa can take lessons from a clutch of Canadian provinces that it says are well in front of a laggard federal government on coping with climate change.
The report from the David Suzuki Foundation argues that most provinces have better climate change plans than the Stephen Harper Conservatives.
“The leadership vacuum at the federal level is being filled with action from the provinces and territories,” said Dale Marshall, the report’s author and a Suzuki Foundation policy analyst.
Top on the list was British Columbia, followed by Quebec, Manitoba and Ontario. The province with the poorest plan was Alberta.
OTTAWA — A new report by the David Suzuki Foundation ranking provincial and territorial climate change plans gives low marks to oil-rich Alberta and Saskatchewan, while lauding British Columbia for its recently implemented carbon tax.
The report likewise singles out Quebec, Manitoba and Ontario as “progressive provinces” for their plans to tackle carbon dioxide emissions.
The Maritime provinces and Nunavut garnered a “fair” rating for their climate-change policies, while the plans of Newfoundland, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan were deemed “poor.”
Alberta was pegged as having the worst plan to confront the country’s changing climate.
A small group of protesters targeted the Heavy Oil Technology conference at the Telus Convention Centre yesterday, protesting the ongoing development of Alberta oilsands.
Accusing the government of “greenwashing,” half a dozen protesters showed up outside the Telus Convention Centre at noon yesterday.
“Our government is insulting our intelligence and lying about (what’s really happening),” said Anna Gerrard, a Greenpeace volunteer, there to protest further development of the oilsands during the Heavy Oil Technologies conference.
“We need to stop adding to the problem,” she said.
New report shows provincial action on climate change heating up (except in Alberta)
For Immediate Release July 16, 2008
QUEBEC CITY –Most provinces (Alberta not included) are stepping up with strong targets and policies to reduce greenhouse gases in the absence of federal leadership on climate change, says a new David Suzuki Foundation report.
Chevron Offers Richmond’s City Council $61 Million to Approve Refinery Expansion Richmond Residents and Bay Area Community say, “Our Health is Not for Sale”
Richmond, CA—Over 500 Bay Area residents attended a Richmond City Council public hearing last night on Chevron’s bid to expand the Richmond refinery to process dirtier crude oil. The plant expansion is seen as a dramatic step in the wrong direction in the effort to decrease pollution-related health risks and climate change in Richmond and the Bay Area. The City Council is expected to issue a final vote today in what has been a 4-year permitting process.
In a last minute effort to lock-in City Council approval for Chevron’s refinery expansion, yesterday Chevron presented the City of Richmond with a $61 million dollar ‘Community Benefit Agreement’ (CBA). The Agreement, submitted to the city council in closed session immediately before the public council hearing, would reportedly include $6.75 million for jobs and education programs, $6 million for community health programs, and requires the City Council’s approval of the expansion project. Other elements of Chevron’s proposal include requiring the City to propose the implementation of standards that would exempt Chevron projects from design review and would result in changes to the City’s land-use process for Chevron projects. Read the rest of this entry »
ROBIN KUNISKI/for Metro Calgary
