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Conflicting reviews on Canada's emissions fight

Feds, Alberta announce $779M for carbon-capture project

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 10/15/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Scientist inspects Weyburn, Sask., site. (CANWEST NEWS SERVICE ARCHIVES)

EDMONTON -- The Alberta and federal governments have announced they will spend $779 million over 15 years to help kick-start a carbon-dioxide-capture project west of Edmonton -- the kind of effort that's been offered as the answer to international concerns over emissions from the province's energy sector.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper attended Wednesday as the funding was announced for TransAlta Corp.'s project for its Keephills 3 coal-fired electricity generation plant near Wabamun Lake. Called Project Pioneer, it is intended to capture and store up to one million tonnes of CO2 a year.

Alberta's investment will total $436 million over the next 15 years. The federal government is contributing $343 million toward the project.

Last week, the two governments laid down their first big bet in the fight to limit CO2 by promising Shell Energy a total of $865 million for its Quest project northeast of Edmonton.

The Pioneer Project will utilize leading-edge technology to capture CO2.

The CO2 will be used for enhanced oil recovery in nearby conventional fields, or stored almost three kilometres underground.

Just a few years old, Keephills 3 is a coal-fired plant jointly owned by Capital Power and TransAlta.

The announcement came amid conflicting assessments of Canada's efforts to limit the greenhouse-gas emissions blamed for global warming.

A prominent environmental scientist and author said Canada has been a laggard in talks to forge a new deal to fight climate change. Australian Tim Flannery said the world faces a watershed moment at the United Nations climate-change conference in Copenhagen in December.

The author of The Weather Makers said Canada has been "singularly unhelpful" at negotiations to broker a draft deal in time for Copenhagen. He took the government to task for "not engaging at the sort of level that you would expect of a developed country of this influence and this economic heft."

But a new report by the International Energy Agency said Canada shouldn't be portrayed as derelict in the fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The report said Canada has one of the highest rates of energy consumption among industrialized countries, but the agency also said Canada is also a stellar performer in improving energy efficiency.

Jean-Yves Garnier, head of the agency's statistics division, said Canada's heavy consumption is understandable given factors such as climate, geography, and Canada's need to burn energy in order to fulfil its role as a major energy producer.

"Canada is a cold country, it is a large country, and it is a producer country, so there's nothing wrong here," he said.

Garnier said the world needs countries such as Canada as it struggles to meet both the rising demand for energy and the critical need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Garnier said Canada has been a positive contributor despite its image among critics of the oilsands industry as a centre of "dirty oil" production.

"Well, we need producers, it's clear."

He cited Canada's 111 per cent increase in energy production since 1974, combined with strong performances in energy-efficiency and in the generation of clean hydro-electric power.

"One of our best examples, when I make a presentation on energy-efficiency indicators, is Canada," he said.

He said major producer countries such as Canada have an obligation to make greater strides in reducing emissions, but dismissed criticisms that Canada's reputation is questionable because of its failure to honour its Kyoto Protocol commitments, and the growth of the polluting oilsands sector.

Among the 28 industrialized countries in the IEA, Canada ranks second, behind Luxembourg, in terms of energy consumption on a per-person basis.

-- Canwest News Service, with files from The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 15, 2009 B4

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