Leaked Documents Suggest Canadian Oil & Gas Sector May Only Cut Emissions 10% By 2020

[hatrack]

EDIT

Prentice was responding to documents obtained by the CBC that apparently suggest Canada's oil-and-gas industries wouldn't need to cut their carbon emissions as deeply as first thought.

CBC is reporting that the draft documents were prepared for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet ahead of the Copenhagen climate talks. The public broadcaster says the documents outline a "working draft position" of Canada's stance on emissions targets. The documents reportedly suggest that Canada revise its targets to be lower than what the Conservatives originally proposed.

CBC says the documents suggest the oil-and-gas industry would only have to reduce emissions by 15 megatonnes rather than the 48 megatonnes set out in its Turning the Corner climate-change plan. The documents also reportedly say that means the oil-and-gas sector would only have to cut its emissions 10 per cent by 2020. The Harper government aims to lower Canada's overall emissions 20 per cent below 2006 levels by 2020.

Prentice says he isn't familiar with the draft documents. But he added they are not official policy. "These documents do not represent the position of the government of Canada," he said in French.

EDIT

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/79327217.html

[HeresyLives]

1. Not govt policy....yet.

But it will be. The documents wouldn't have been written up, if this wasn't being considered.

And the really bad part of it is:

'Green groups have been repeatedly awarding their “Fossil of the Day” award to Canada – and the companies with their drills stuck into its tar sands (BP, Shell, Total and Norway’s Statoil). Oil extraction from the tar sands only accounts for about 5pc of Canada’s emissions, but the intensity of its carbon content makes it about ten times more damaging to the planet than fuel from the North Sea, according to scientists.'

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/rowenamason/100002690/corporate-canada-cast-as-the-villain-at-copenhagen/