Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Since we launched this website in June 2008, thousands of people have visited the site and voiced their opinions.
For what we’ve heard, go to “What You’re Saying – Greenhouse Gas Emissions” and “What You’re Saying – Innovation”.
For information on what the oil sands industry is doing, go to “What We’re Doing – Greenhouse Gas Emissions” and “What We’re Doing – Innovation”.
Climate change is a global issue, requiring global solutions. All of us – industry, governments and the general public – must be involved in those solutions. 29.5 megatonnes of greenhouse gases are emitted from the oil sands each year. That’s a big number – it’s equivalent to over five million cars on the road.
Those 29.5 megatonnes represent 12 percent of Alberta’s total greenhouse emissions, nearly five percent of Canada's emissions, and 0.1 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
We know Canadians are concerned about how oil sands are contributing to climate change. Oil sands production and upgrading emits more greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, than conventional oil production. Emissions are increasing as production increases, although facilities must comply with Alberta and Canadian climate change legislation that require emissions per barrel of production to be reduced over time.
Industry is focused on finding and developing new technologies to reduce emissions. But some say that the industry is not moving fast or far enough. Tell us what you think.
See the related links below. Please note that these links are intended to provide diverse perspectives. We do not endorse or necessarily agree with the specific views or information presented.
Related Links
- Canada West Foundation:
- Getting it Right
- Alberta Environment:
- Alberta’s climate change plan
- Integrated CO2 Network:
- A Canadian CO2 Capture and Storage Initiative
- EnCana:
- An explanation of how CO2 Sequestration works
- WEBA:
- Wood Buffalo Environmental Association
- Pembina Institute:
- Carbon Neutral by 2020
- Environment Canada:
- Greenhouse gas sources and sinks
- Globe and Mail:
- Looking for Solutions to the Carbon Conundrum
- Penn West Energy Trust:
- An explanation of Enhanced Oil Recovery Using CO2
- Alberta Saline Aquifer Project:
- http://www.albertaasap.com