Environment minister calls for oilsands cleanup.

Calgary Herald , Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Correspondent :
Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice urged the energy sector and Alberta government Monday to clean up the oilsands -- and Canada's environmental reputation -- but said Ottawa will wait for the U.S. before adopting new climate change measures.

In a pointed speech to Calgary business leaders, Prentice said Canada won't adopt a cap-and-trade emissions reduction program or regulations for specific industries like the oil-patch, unless the U.S. -the country's largest trading partner -decides to go that route.

It would be "utterly pointless" for Canada to pursue its own climate change targets without American participation, he argued, because it would simply erect trade barriers and leave domestic companies at a competitive disadvantage.

"Canada can go down either road -- cap and trade on the one hand, or regulation on the other," Prentice said, "but we will not go down (that) road alone."

But Prentice, a Calgary MP, dedicated much of his speech to the carbon-intensive oilsands, stressing that industry and the Stelmach government need to work with Ottawa to improve Canada's tattered environmental reputation.

The province and sector also must help the federal Tory government meet the country's revised environmental goals -- to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020 -- the same target as the Obama administration.

The new federal target, announced by Prentice over the weekend, is a step back from Ottawa's previous commitment to slash emissions 20 per cent from 2006 levels by 2020.

Alberta's own greenhouse gas plan won't see the province start to reduce emissions until 2020.

Provincial Environment Minister Rob Renner said Alberta isn't looking for any breaks for the oilsands, but wants the sector treated equally. While Ottawa's decision to follow the U.S. will help trade-exposed sectors like the energy industry, he reminded Prentice who owns the lucrative resource.

"This is a provincially owned resource," Renner said. "We have to ensure that the province is not only a partner, but is recognized as the owner of the resource."

Renner said he and his federal counterpart have heard the criticism and recognize "there is room for us to do a better job" on greening oilsands development.

For his part, Prentice said the Harper government supports expanding oilsands development, but warned the province and industry must not forget their environmental obligations.

"What is at issue on the international stage is our reputation as a country," he said.

"We have a lot of work to do. It is no secret, and should be no surprise that the general perception of the oilsands, misinformation that has been spread, has been profoundly negative."

Government and industry must invest in new technologies to help reduce the oilsands' footprint and demonstrate Canada is not an environmental pariah, he said, otherwise the country will be cast as "a global poster child for environmentally unsound resource development."

"In our efforts, we will expect and we will secure the co-operation of those private interests which are developing the oilsands," he said.

In Ottawa, federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said the time has come for Canada to take a lead role in tackling climate change.

The U.S. climate bill is stalled in Congress and risks falling off the agenda as President Barack Obama fights other battles, on the economic and health care fronts.

"(Obama) certainly won't be able to take any action on climate change this year, or next year; at least I'm afraid he won't," Ignatieff said. "We should not be waiting for the Americans to go forward. We should be taking action now."

Don Thompson, president of the Oil Sands Developers Group, an industry lobby, noted the sector is a key driver of the Canadian economy, but spews only five per cent of the country's greenhouse gases.

"Clearly, the oilsands industry is a key cornerstone of economic and energy security for Canada," Thompson said.

"It's hard to see how (the oilsands) . . . could be seen as tarnishing our image."

The oil industry's main lobby group, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, agrees the sector can improve its environmental efforts, and said technology is key to achieving that goal.

The group lauded the federal government's decision to hold off on climate change regulations until the United States makes its move.

"It's very important to keep an eye to your biggest trading partner," said CAPP spokesman Travis Davies. "It plays to Canada's competitiveness."

But Marlo Raynolds of the Pembina Institute, an Albertabased environmental think-tank, said Ottawa's decision to follow the U.S. proves the federal government is crafting its policies around the interests of Wild Rose Country and the oilsands.

He said it's disappointing Canada won't proceed with its own cap-and-trade plan when B.C., Ontario and Quebec have already promised aggressive action. While Raynolds welcomed Prentice's warning for Alberta and oilsands producers, he said it's long overdue for a federal government that is an environmental laggard of its own.

"Finally we've realized that our international reputation in Canada really depends on our environmental performance," he said. "We need to address that very swiftly."

 
SOURCE : http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Environment+minister+calls+oilsands+cleanup/2510892/story.html
 


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