Feature story - October 16, 2007
Greenpeace activists were unimpressed by the government paying lip service to climate change during the throne speech on Tuesday night, and are calling for renewed commitments — and a concrete plan — to meet international obligations.
Mining the tar sands requires clearcutting the ancient Boreal Forest.
"By abandoning Kyoto commitments, expanding the tar sands, and failingto take any real action to prevent global warming, Canada is actingmore like a rogue state than a bridge-builder," said Mike Hudema, aGreenpeace campaigner. "Science-based emissions targets have beendiscarded, and environmental standards undermined as the governmentexpedites the process to approve new projects. It's clear that the tarsands are a bigger priority for this government than the world'sclimate crisis, or Canada's role on the world stage."
TheAlberta tar sands are a particular problem for global warming in Canadaas the country's fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions.While producing a million barrels of oil per day, the tar sands emit 40million tonnes of CO2 per year, and this number is expected to doubleby 2012. Without limiting growth in the tar sands it will be impossiblefor the Canadian government to make the emissions reductions needed toprevent catastrophic climate change.