Recognizing the urgent need for environmental management and the benefits of engaging stakeholders, the Pembina Institute puts forward recommendations for a new multi-stakeholder approach to environmental management in the Athabasca oil sands.

The Pembina Institute's new report, Upgrader Alley, provides the first in-depth look at the environmental impacts of upgrading oil sands bitumen in the Edmonton region. It recommends that the Government of Alberta only approve new projects once environmental and infrastructure plans are completed and implemented.

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Oil sands production in northern Alberta could triple by 2020, to four million barrels a day. As a result of this increasing oil sands production, a major industrial expansion of bitumen upgraders is underway northeast of Edmonton. This so called "Upgrader Alley" is expected to handle early half the oil sands production, right on Edmonton’s doorstep.

This Report Card evaluates the Government of Alberta's Draft Land-use Framework using the Alberta by Design Checklist, a detailed set of recommendations for the Land-use Framework published by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society–Northern Alberta and the Pembina Institute.

This report, commissioned by the Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI) and authored by the Pembina Institute and Alberta Research Council, brings together experiences from the application of offset policies in other jurisdictions with perspectives from industry, First Nations, government, academics and environmental groups in Alberta. It concludes that biodiversity offsets should be considered to address the growing impacts on biodiversity from resource development in the Boreal, including in Alberta's oil sands region.

Fact or Fiction: Oil Sands Reclamation is a critical review of current policies and practices governing oil sands reclamation.

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Download the fact sheet.

Oil sands mining has transformed the Athabasca region of northeastern Alberta, and every year the lack of effective reclamation standards and the poor reclamation record of the oil sands mining industry becomes a bigger and bigger problem.

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Download the full report.

This report discusses how the government has advanced numerous strategic initiatives in relative isolation from one another. It concludes that multiple strategies that individually address air, land, water and the activities that affect them will ultimately prove unsuccessful unless they are integrated through a common, legislated regional planning process.

This checklist by the Pembina Institute and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is a tool to accompany our companion report entitled Alberta by Design: Blueprint for an Effective Land-Use Framework which contains details and regional case studies on the issue of land use in Alberta.

The Government of Alberta initiated the development of the Alberta Land-Use Framework in response to the acknowledged need for a new approach to managing land use. This checklist presents the core principles and a list of the key elements that can be used to objectively assess the Alberta government's Land-Use Framework once it is released.

This report by the Pembina Institute and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) proposes a blueprint for improving Albertans' quality of life and ensuring environmental sustainability.

This Pembina Institute and WWF-Canada report is the most comprehensive comparative assessment of 10 of Alberta's operating, approved or applied for oil sands mines. The first of its kind, this report finds that for the most part oil sands mines get a failing grade.

Oil sands mines were ranked on 20 different environmental indicators in five categories: environmental management, land impacts, air pollution, water use, and management of greenhouse gases.

This fact sheet summarizes the key points from the Pembina Institute and WWF-Canada report Under-Mining the Oil Sands. The full report is the most comprehensive comparative assessment of 10 of Alberta's operating, approved or applied for oil sands mines. The first of its kind, this report finds that for the most part oil sands mines get a failing grade.

Oil sands mines were ranked on 20 different environmental indicators in five categories: environmental management, land impacts, air pollution, water use, and management of greenhouse gases.

Thinking Like an Owner
Help Premier Stelmach Make the Right Decision About Royalty Reform

You can help Premier Ed Stelmach make the right decision on energy royalties.

It's is easy as 1 - 2 - 3:

1.) Get informed.

2.) Think like an owner.

3.) Let the Premier know where you stand.

Download a primer with the information you need below.

This series of videos documents the Athabasca River Expedition as it celebrates this extraordinary western waterway and reveals threats to the river and its watershed, a symbol of Canadian identity and wilderness.

A huge thanks to QuantumShift.tv for their help in making these videos possible!

The report, Driving it Home: Choosing the Right Path for Fuelling North America's Transportation Future, describes the stark energy crossroads that North America faces. Researched and written by the NRDC, Western Resources Advocates (WRA) - both American-based environmental groups - and the Calgary-based Pembina Institute.

This report describes several options that Albertans, when thinking like owners, can consider for reforming the oil sands royalty regime. The reforms are designed to ensure better value to Albertans while maintaining a reasonable profit for oil sands companies.