SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The Canadian ambassador to the European Union has threatened to complain to the World Trade Organization if the EU designates oilsands crude, seen in production, as more polluting than conventional oil. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)
EU Vote on Canadian Tar Sands Ends in Stalemate
Decision to label Alberta's oil 'highly polluting' will take place this summer
Feb 23, 2012
An EU vote today to determine whether imported Canadian tar sands would be categorized as a 'highly polluting fuel' ended in stalemate, giving a cautious short-term victory to green advocates, and pushing a final decision to the European Council which will now vote on the matter this summer.
The CBC reports:
Experts from the EU's 27 member countries voted 54 in favour and 128 against, but weighting by population gives some countries a bigger vote, leading to the tie Thursday. Germany, France, the U.K., and Italy all carry extra weight.
As a result, the proposal will move up to the European Council, which will vote on it in late spring or early summer.
The EU's so-called fuel-quality directive -- part of Europe's attempts to reduce CO2 emissions by encouraging the use of cleaner fuel -- ranks fuels based on their carbon footprint. It calculates a fuel's entire life cycle of emissions, then assigns it a number.
Under the directive, Canadian oil derived from oilsands would get a higher number than conventional oil because it uses more energy to extract and refine.The fuel quality directive would make Alberta's main export more expensive for European customers. Canada doesn't export much oil to Europe, but could in the future.
Canada and the oil industry have lobbied against the proposal, while environmental groups have supported it.
Greenpeace's transport policy adviser in Europe Franziska Achterberg said in response to the decision: "Now that the tar sands issue is finally in the hands of publicly accountable ministers, we will see who's pulling the strings in Europe. The evidence is clear: tar sands are the world's dirtiest fuels. The decision is even clearer: ministers should stand up to the oil industry and ban them from Europe."
###
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
An EU vote today to determine whether imported Canadian tar sands would be categorized as a 'highly polluting fuel' ended in stalemate, giving a cautious short-term victory to green advocates, and pushing a final decision to the European Council which will now vote on the matter this summer.
The CBC reports:
Experts from the EU's 27 member countries voted 54 in favour and 128 against, but weighting by population gives some countries a bigger vote, leading to the tie Thursday. Germany, France, the U.K., and Italy all carry extra weight.
As a result, the proposal will move up to the European Council, which will vote on it in late spring or early summer.
The EU's so-called fuel-quality directive -- part of Europe's attempts to reduce CO2 emissions by encouraging the use of cleaner fuel -- ranks fuels based on their carbon footprint. It calculates a fuel's entire life cycle of emissions, then assigns it a number.
Under the directive, Canadian oil derived from oilsands would get a higher number than conventional oil because it uses more energy to extract and refine.The fuel quality directive would make Alberta's main export more expensive for European customers. Canada doesn't export much oil to Europe, but could in the future.
Canada and the oil industry have lobbied against the proposal, while environmental groups have supported it.
Greenpeace's transport policy adviser in Europe Franziska Achterberg said in response to the decision: "Now that the tar sands issue is finally in the hands of publicly accountable ministers, we will see who's pulling the strings in Europe. The evidence is clear: tar sands are the world's dirtiest fuels. The decision is even clearer: ministers should stand up to the oil industry and ban them from Europe."
###
An EU vote today to determine whether imported Canadian tar sands would be categorized as a 'highly polluting fuel' ended in stalemate, giving a cautious short-term victory to green advocates, and pushing a final decision to the European Council which will now vote on the matter this summer.
The CBC reports:
Experts from the EU's 27 member countries voted 54 in favour and 128 against, but weighting by population gives some countries a bigger vote, leading to the tie Thursday. Germany, France, the U.K., and Italy all carry extra weight.
As a result, the proposal will move up to the European Council, which will vote on it in late spring or early summer.
The EU's so-called fuel-quality directive -- part of Europe's attempts to reduce CO2 emissions by encouraging the use of cleaner fuel -- ranks fuels based on their carbon footprint. It calculates a fuel's entire life cycle of emissions, then assigns it a number.
Under the directive, Canadian oil derived from oilsands would get a higher number than conventional oil because it uses more energy to extract and refine.The fuel quality directive would make Alberta's main export more expensive for European customers. Canada doesn't export much oil to Europe, but could in the future.
Canada and the oil industry have lobbied against the proposal, while environmental groups have supported it.
Greenpeace's transport policy adviser in Europe Franziska Achterberg said in response to the decision: "Now that the tar sands issue is finally in the hands of publicly accountable ministers, we will see who's pulling the strings in Europe. The evidence is clear: tar sands are the world's dirtiest fuels. The decision is even clearer: ministers should stand up to the oil industry and ban them from Europe."
###
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.