Alberta Government Back Pedals on Role of CCS in Tar Sands

Alberta reaction mixed to questions about carbon capture technology

Last Updated: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 | 10:25 AM MT

CBC News

Senior Alberta government cabinet ministers expressed different opinions Monday on what effect carbon capture technology would have on reducing pollution from the oilsands industry in light of internal government documents that call that technology into question.

Previously secret ministerial briefing notes obtained by CBC News under freedom of information legislation said only a small percentage of carbon dioxide released by mining the oilsands can be captured and injected underground for storage.

The briefing notes are based on the findings of a joint Canada-Alberta task force on carbon capture and storage.

“Never has been arguments been made that this was any kind of panacea,” Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner said in response Monday. “There are opportunities for carbon capture and storage in Alberta. Those opportunities lie to some degree in oilsands.”

Government Fails To Disclose Carbon Captures Limited Role in Tar Sands

Secret advice to politicians: oilsands emissions hard to scrub

Briefing document is pessimistic on carbon storage and capture

Last Updated: Monday, November 24, 2008 | 9:49 AM MT Comments400Recommended258

CBC News

Carbon dioxide emissions from Western Canada’s oilsands are set to increase from five per cent to 16 per cent of the national total by 2020 under current plans. (Canadian Press)CBC News has obtained a government document that says reducing greenhouse gases from Western Canada’s oilsands will be much more difficult than some politicians and the industry suggest.

Canadian Government Goes to Court Over Failure to Live Up to Kyoto

Canada back in court over Kyoto lawsuit

For Immediate Release November 25, 2008 Appeal of KPIA decision launched a week before next climate change meetings OTTAWA – Lawyers for Friends of the Earth Canada gave the Government of Canada notice yesterday that they will be appealing a recent Federal Court decision in Canada’s first ever climate change lawsuit. The much anticipated appeal comes one week before the world gathers in Poznan, Poland for the next round of international climate change negotiations. The original lawsuit was launched in June by pro bono lawyers from Paliare Roland Barristers and Ecojustice (formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund) on behalf of Friends of the Earth Canada. They were seeking a declaration from the court that the government had failed to meet the legal requirements of the federal Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act (KPIA). These requirements include a Plan based on meeting Kyoto targets and drafting and enacting legally binding regulations to combat climate change.

Oil Pressure: the fight to stop the tar sands

Oil pressure

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What happens in Northern Alberta is no longer a provincial issue.
Now the world is watching — the oilsands have gone global

You either loved it or hated it last week when Maude Barlow, chairwoman of the Council of Canadians, compared Alberta’s oilsands mines to the bleak, desolate landscape of Mordor ruled by the Dark Lord in the fictional trilogy Lord of the Rings.

GREENPEACE

Greenpeace activists suspended a massive protest banner at a Syncrude tailings pond north of Fort McMurray in July.