- Associated Press
Much of U.S. environmentalists’ opposition to big pipeline projects has focused on Keystone XL. They say the pipeline would worsen climate change by leading to higher production in Alberta’s oil sands, which are exploited using an emissions-intensive process.
But a new report says another planned pipeline — the Energy East project — would have an even more detrimental effect on climate change than Keystone XL.
Producing the crude needed to fill Energy East, which would ship Alberta oil across Canada to New Brunswick, could generate an additional 30 million to 32 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year, according to the Pembina Institute, an environmental think tank. Keystone XL, by comparison, would increase emissions by 22 million tons, it estimates.
Both projects are spearheaded by Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. Keystone XL, which would ship Canadian crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast, has faced delays and significant opposition south of the border, including from members of President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party. The Energy East project, while facing opposition from environmentalists, has been hailed by some Canadian politicians as a nation-building effort.
The climate-change impact of pipeline projects remains a matter of debate.
A U.S. State Department report out last week concluded that Keystone XL was unlikely to significantly alter the amount of oil ultimately removed from Canada’s oil sands.
“The situation is the same for the Energy East project,” a TransCanada spokesman said Thursday. “If Energy East is not built, we have already seen the increasing movement of oil by truck, rail and tanker instead of a pipeline, which is the safest and most environmentally responsible method of transporting oil and natural gas over long distances,” spokesman Shawn Howard said via email.
TransCanada also says the western Canadian oil being shipped to eastern Canadian refineries will replace imported oil from countries with weaker environmental policies.
In case you’re wondering what 30 million to 32 million metric tons of carbon emissions represents, the Pembina Institute says it’s the equivalent of adding more than 7 million cars to Canadian roads.