The proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines pose serious risks to salmon, according to a new report commissioned by the Pembina Institute. Pipelines and Salmon in Northern British Columbia: Potential Impacts, examines how pipeline construction and operations could affect salmon and salmon habitat.

Amy Taylor, Director of Alberta Energy Solutions at the Pembina Institute, responded to the announcement that the Governments of Alberta and Canada will provide a $779 million subsidy to TransAlta's Pioneer Carbon Capture and Storage project.

Tim Weis, Director of the Pembina Institute’s renewable energy and efficiency program, reacted to Michael Ignatieff’s speech today in Vancouver, saying the Liberal leader's committments to make significant investments in clean energy jobs and set a hard cap on carbon emissions are encouraging, but more details about targets and mechanisms are needed to make the plan workable.

The Pembina Institute responded to the announcement that the governments of Alberta and Canada will provide an $865 million subsidy to Shell’s Quest Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) project.

The Pembina Institute responded to the announcement that oil sands company plans for tailings management compliance with Directive 074 have been made public.

In response to President Obama's speech to the U.N. calling for urgent global action to address climate change, Marlo Raynolds of Pembina comments, "Countries that lead the global transition away from fossil fuels will win the race for clean-energy jobs. Canada needs to be one of those leaders..."

Dan Woynillowicz, spokesperson for the Pembina Institute, made the following statements in response to Shell's media release regarding the occupation of its oil sands mine by Greenpeace activists:

"Shell's release makes a misleading statement regarding the Pembina Institute's ranking of its environmental performance. The Pembina Institute/WWF's 2008 report card on the environmental performance of oil sands mines found that Shell's new oil sands mines are getting worse, not better."

Calgary, Alberta - An Alberta court decision that permits the Energy Resource Conservation Board (ERCB) to ignore Royal Dutch Shell's breach of written agreements made to obtain regulatory approval signals a likely end to collaborative approaches in the oil sands.

Oil sands development in Saskatchewan should be paused immediately so that appropriate planning and regulatory processes can be put in place before further development occurs. A new report, Carbon Copy: Preventing Oil Sands Fever in Saskatchewan, outlines key steps that would be required to ensure any oil sands development proceeds responsibly.

Dan Woynillowicz, spokesperson for the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to the release by the Alberta Energy Research Institute of two new analyses comparing the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands and other sources of crude oil:

“These reports reaffirm that producing and burning oil from the oil sands results in up to 45 per cent more greenhouse gas emissions relative to some sources of conventional crude oil.”

On June 4, 2009, the Pembina Institute distributed copies of a new resource, Clearing the Air on Oil Sands Myths, to key Canadian and U.S. decision makers. It identifies a growing body of oil sands “spin” from federal and Alberta politicians and the oil sands industry.

Ecojustice and the Pembina Institute presented evidence at the Oil and Water Hearings that oil sands development threatens Alberta's freshwater. The groups will showed that the federal government's mismanagement of oil sands development failed to protect the environment.

A few critical additions, including mandatory public consultation and binding limits on cumulative impacts, are needed if proposed new provincial land-use planning legislation is to better manage development and its impacts on Alberta's landscapes and communities.

Reductions in GHG "intensity" do not deliver reductions in actual emissions if industrial production continues to increase, as is the case in the oil sands sector. In its 2008 climate change plan, the government acknowledged that it expects Alberta's total GHG pollution to continue to increase until 2020.

Royal Dutch Shell has abandoned its written agreements to significantly reduce greenhouse gas pollution at its Jackpine Mine and Muskeg River Mine Expansion oil sands projects.

Current water management practices cannot protect water in northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories from the impacts of oil sands development, according to a new report by the Pembina Institute.

Matthew Bramley, Director of Pembina's climate change program, made the following statement in response to today's announcement of a Canada-U.S. dialogue on energy technology: "Given the level of ambition President Obama has already shown in tackling global warming, it's disappointing that the only thing Stephen Harper committed to today is holding talks on technology research and pilot projects..."

The Pembina Institute submitted comments on a draft Alberta Government policy that would allow in situ oil sands operations to burn dirtier fuels, which would significantly increase the intensity and total amount of greenhouse gas pollution and air emissions from the sector.

With available fresh water resources expected to decrease as a result of climate change, Alberta faces the challenge of meeting its growing demand for water in a sustainable manner, according to a new report by the Pembina Institute.

The Energy Resources and Conservation Board released a new directive today that could help reduce the future creation of toxic tailings waste from oil sands mining. Since 1967, oil sands mining operators have been allowed to manage tailings on a voluntary basis with little government enforcement. The new directive will, for the first time, require operators to submit annual plans, including schedules, for reducing toxic fluid tailings waste.