Resolution accepted at the 9th EGP Council meeting, Montreuil, Paris, France, October 9-12, 2008
When StatoilHydro Canada's CEO Geir Jøssand states that he is confident that Statoil will surpass their goals of "sustainable development" in the oil sands, this can be described as nothing more than greenwashing a kind of oil production even less sustainable than conventional oil extraction by drilling.
The Norwegian petroleum company StatoilHydro - with the Norwegian government as its majority shareholder- as well as other European oil companies, is increasingly involved in the production of oil from oil sands in Canada. As the Canadian Green Party points out, this development continues to drag Canada down a path of non-sustainability in order to feed unbridled demand for oil when conservation measures and implementation of energy efficient technology is the solution.
To produce a barrel of oil from oil sands takes around three times as much energy as for typical oil extraction (leading to emissions of 85.5kg CO2 per barrel compared to 28.6kg CO2). In addition to being the fastest growing contributor to Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, production of oil from oil sands lead to contamination of up to 5 units of water per unit of oil produced. The oils sands developments also lead to the destruction of boreal forests and waters, loss of biodiversity, air pollution problems and violation of First Nations’ lands. When StatoilHydro Canada's CEO Geir Jøssand states that he is confident that Statoil will surpass their goals of "sustainable development" in the oil sands, this can be described as nothing more than greenwashing a kind of oil production even less sustainable than conventional oil extraction by drilling.
Canada is likely to miss its Kyoto targets. To underscore the problem, the heavy oil from oil sands is being extracted first and foremost to supply the demand of the United States, the country with the least efficient vehicle fleet in the world.
The European Greens support the Green Party of Canada in their calls for a moratorium on the expansion of Tar Sands development and in their calls for an elimination of government subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. The Greens also call on the Government of Norway to act responsibly and in accordance with its stated goal of promoting sustainable development; leading an active ownership policy and ending StatoilHydro's involvement in oil sands development.
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