A new report comparing the environmental performance of Alberta’s oilsands producers against each other has found that even the winners have little to brag about.
The groundbreaking study by the Pembina Institute and the World Wildlife Fund, compares 10 operating and proposed oilsands mines using data supplied by the companies and publicly available government sources.
It asks 20 questions grouped around the topics of environmental management, land, air emissions, water and climate change. The answers to each question were scored and the results expressed as a percentage of the possible maximum.The best the Alberta industry could do was Albian’s 56 per cent for its existing Muskeg mine. Syncrude and Syneco ranked last, with only 18 per cent.
The most dismal results were for water use and climate. No company scored better than 50 per cent on the five water-related questions, and only three scored any marks at all for plans to deal with greenhouse gas production – although Albian’s existing Muskeg mine racked up 66 per cent.
Rob Powell one of the authors said: “We’re not getting the kind of regulatory oversight that’s required to achieve a reasonable standard of environmental performance. Why are they not insisting that these companies perform to the best available current standard?”
Is it because of the money…