Global green groups set up shop Over oilsands concerns in Alberta

CP, Sat, June 9, 2007, Edmonton Sun -- Alberta’s oilsands are in for increased worldwide scrutiny as international environmental groups set up shop in Edmonton to monitor the expansion and impact of the greenhouse gas-emitting mega-projects.

“It’s a hugely important issue for Alberta, Canada and the world,” said Dave Martin of Greenpeace, known for its colourful direct action protests.

“There’s a broad recognition that Canada needs to address the environmental problems with the tarsands.

“I don’t think there’s any question that you’ll be seeing civil disobedience in the future.”

Green groups setting up shop

Martin said Greenpeace plans to have an office staffed in the provincial capital within the next couple of months.

The World Wildlife Fund set up an office in Edmonton last December and is currently staffing it up. That office will focus on issues including the oilsands and the proposed Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline.

The Sierra Legal Defence Fund, which provides legal expertise to fight environmental battles in court and has just filed a legal challenge of Imperial Oil’s Kearl oilsands project, also plans to open an office in Alberta within the next year.

“It’s a board priority of ours to open an office in Alberta,” said executive director Rob Mitchell. “There’s a feeling that there’s a lot of work we could be doing.”

And although the Sierra Club has had a representative in the province for about five years, that office has shifted its focus to the oilsands over the last year.

“Our priorities are tarsands and water,” said spokesman Stephen Hazell. “In Alberta, it’s going to be the centre of a major fight over the next five years or so.”

Call to boycott oilsands-derived oil

The moves follow an effort by one of the most influential environmental groups in the United States to convince Americans that they should stop buying what it calls the oilsands’ “bottom-of-the-barrel” energy.

A report by the Natural Resources Defence Council, to be released Monday at a symposium in Washington, D.C., says the U.S. should pass regulations to discourage the use of fuels such as oilsands-derived oil, which generates up the three times as much greenhouse gas as conventional oil during its production and use.

That same message has been taken to Europe by the World Wildlife Fund, which released a report critical of the oilsands last week in the United Kingdom.

Hazell said the presence of large environmental groups with global networks is likely to change the tenor of the debate in Alberta. Such organizations bring new money, expertise and experience into the mix.

'Putting down roots'

It’s also an indication of how seriously environmentalists around the world are taking the development of the oilsands, which are Canada’s fastest-growing producer of greenhouse gas and also generate concerns about water use, the destruction of forest habitat and social and health impacts on nearby communities.

“Each of those three organizations have made it an international priority to address climate change,” said Mitchell.

Although members of Greenpeace have already held a workshop for environmental activists near Edmonton, Martin said Albertans shouldn’t expect to see protesters climbing buildings or hanging banners right away.

“We’re going to start by listening and putting down roots,” Martin said.

But he said environmental action in Alberta is about to enter a whole new era.

“I think people are prepared to take to the streets, and I think that’s justified.”