Canadian Environmental Groups Issue Declaration on Oilsands Development

A dozen environmental groups from across Canada issued a declaration today that lays out the minimum conditions for managing oilsands development. The declaration highlights the rapid rate of growth of the oilsands industry, which is outstripping the ability of the federal and provincial governments to adequately protect the regional, national and global environment and climate. It also notes the clear links between inefficient use of transportation fuels in North America and the growing demand for synthetic crude oil from the oilsands.

"Canada urgently needs a long-term, climate-friendly sustainable energy framework that positions us to truly benefit from our enviable mix of energy resources," says Julia Langer, Global Threats Director with World Wildlife Fund Canada. "Irresponsible and inefficient use of transportation fuels in North America is driving tar sands development at a pace and scale that poses significant ecological and climate change risk."

The declaration calls on government to initiate and lead a transition towards a sustainable energy economy that ensures genuine and sustainable prosperity beyond the life of the oilsands.

"It's time to shift subsidies away from the oil and gas sector and direct them towards rapidly expanding the Canadian economy's energy efficiency and low-impact renewable energy industries," says Morag Carter, of the David Suzuki Foundation. "Further, governments must ensure that the public wealth generated by depleting this non-renewable resource is maximized for current and future generations, and that all environmental liabilities are borne by the oilsands industry."

With projections that oilsands production will grow from one million to more than five million barrels per day over the next 25 years, the air, land and water of Alberta's northeastern boreal forest is at risk of severe environmental degradation. "Precautionary environmental limits and a binding regional integrated management plan are needed to manage the cumulative environmental impacts of existing and future oilsands development," says Rick Schneider with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

"The proposed tar sands developments will tear a hole in Canada's lungs — our vital boreal forest ecosystem," says the Sierra Club of Canada's Lindsay Telfer. "It is essential that an integrated land management plan be in place that recognizes and protects the integrity of this critical ecosystem."

As Canada takes action to meet its Kyoto obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, rapidly rising greenhouse gas emissions from the oilsands pose a challenge that must be overcome. "Through improvements in energy efficiency and the purchase of genuine emissions offsets, the oilsands industry can be carbon neutral by 2020," says Dr. Marlo Raynolds of the Pembina Institute. "Given the industry's capacity for technical innovation and financial success, there is no reason why this cannot or should not be achieved."

The declaration sets out the groups' minimum conditions for the responsible development of the oilsands.
Along with the declaration, additional context and the detailed conditions are appended and available at www.pembina.org/oil-sands.

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