Climate and Energy

What to make of the conclusion, courtesy of the National Energy Board’s Joint Review Panel (JRP) considering Enbridge’s proposed pipelines and tankers project, that a catastrophic spill of diluted bitumen (untreated oil sands oil, diluted so that it can be transported by pipe) on BC’s North Coast would only have a short-term impact on the environment?  And, as if to emphasize the questions raised by that conclusion, less than a month after the report was released, Environment Canada released a report confirming that spills of diluted bitumen – which Enbridge’s project would carry –

Late last week (Thursday, September 8^th), the Canadian government, after working for almost a decade to develop a plan to manage BC’s North Coast, known as the Pacific North Coast Integrated Marine Area Plan (PNCIMA), suddenly announced that it is withdrawing from an agreement which would ensure adequate funding to complete the plan by December 2012.  Prime Minister Harper’s government

We’ve written before about the apparent and unacceptable influence of the oil and gas industry on Canada’s environmental laws, which may have extended to a suggestion that the Canadian government roll multiple amendments into omnibus budget bills (as it did in 2012).

Earlier this week we warned that there were signals that amendments to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) might silence not just environmentalists, also but hunters, fishers, land owners, and others by restricting public participation to those who are “directly affected.” 

At some level we are all responsible for climate change.  But on another level, the fossil fuel companies whose very raison d’être is to get coal, oil and gas out of the ground, and make it available to our addicted economy, are also responsible. 

Many people seem surprised when I mention the possibility that greenhouse gas emitting companies may one day be held liable for the damages caused by climate change.  And yet, there is no other context in which businesses could cause billions of dollars of damages in Canada each year ($5 Billion per year by 2020 and

In northeastern BC, the “Landman” is a representative of an oil and gas company, who shows up at your door when the company wants to drill an oil or gas well on your property.  

Last month, Executive Director Jessica Clogg and I traveled to Ft. St. John to present on regional strategic environmental assessment at a conference called “What’s the Drill on Gas?” hosted by the Treaty 8 Tribal Association (T8TA).  The gathering was attended by Chiefs, Elders, and community members from all nations of the T8TA.  The purpose was to help delegates understand the cumulative effects of natural gas resource development within their territory and to provide a structured forum to explore innovative solutions to help better manage cumulative effects.

I’m pleased to announce the release of a major new report – Payback Time? – What the internationalization of climate litigation could mean for Canadian oil and gas companies.

Some interesting recent developments in the US on regulating hydraulic fracturing, aka “fracking.”