Banks| Dodgy Deals| Map| Campaigns
About us| Blog| Publications| Successes| Contact us| Donate
About BankTrack
Visit us
Organisation
Our team
Our board
Guiding principles
Team up with us
Join our Active Allies list
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
History
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2020-12-22 00:00:00
Blog: In 2020, the Equator Principles struggle to remain relevant
2020-12-14 00:00:00
The battle to stop Line 3 is heating up on the ground and across the US
2020-12-14 00:00:00
Corporate accountability and the just transition: Frameworks for holding corporations accountable for climate change
2020-12-12 00:00:00
Five years since the Paris Agreement, are banks' 2050 pledges enough to reign in fossil fuel finance?
2020-09-24 12:53:20
Oscislowo open-pit coal mine cancelled
2020-09-08 13:07:41
Strengthened OECD guidance on responsible banking
2020-02-25 10:35:27
JPMorgan Chase Coal and Arctic Policy a step forward but fails to match its climate responsibility as the world’s #1 Fossil Bank
2020-02-18 17:27:23
Civil society groups welcome Royal Bank of Scotland preparing to exit fossil fuels
Connect
2020-11-30 00:00:00
Soft Commitments, Hard Lessons: an analysis of the Soft Commodities Compact
2020-11-24 00:00:00
"Trust Us, We're Equator Banks": Part II
2020-11-18 00:00:00
Crude Risk: Risks to banks and investors from the East African Crude Oil Pipeline
2020-09-16 00:00:00
Principles for Paris-Aligned Financial Institutions: Climate Impact, Fossil Fuels and Deforestation
2020-08-17 00:00:00
"Trust Us, We're Equator Banks": Part I
2020-03-18 00:00:00
Banking on Climate Change - Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2020
See all publications
Browse
Home
Banks
Dodgy Deals
Map
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook page
Twitter channel
Home › Projects
Canadian tar sands Canada
About
Financiers
Companies
Impacts
Governance
Documents
News
Media
Links
Updates

On record

This profile is no longer actively maintained, with the information now possibly out of date

Send feedback on this profile
Download as PDF
By: BankTrack
Created before Nov 2016
Last update: 2015-11-01 14:53:10

Contact:

climate@banktrack.org


Share this page:

Photo: -
Sectors Oil and Gas Extraction
Location

About Canadian tar sands

In the Canadian Boreal forest just downstream of the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains are the Canadian tar sands. The region contains some 2 trillion barrels of oil, but getting to it will mean destroying an area larger than the state of Florida.

Tar sands consist of heavy crude oil mixed with sand, clay and bitumen. Extraction entails burning natural gas to generate enough heat and steam to liquify the oil in order to extract it. As many as five barrels of water are needed to produce a single barrel of oil.

Tar sands oil is the worst type of oil for the climate. The production of a barrel of tar sands oil produces about three times as much CO2 compared to the production of conventional oil, because of the energy required to extract and process tar sands oil. Communities downstream from the tar sands mines report elevated levels of cancer that they blame on toxic contamination of the Athabasca River.

Latest developments

2010-01-31 10:25:32

What must happen

  1. Require clients to provide evidence of Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) from First Nations on projects and activities affecting their communities. FPIC reflects international law, minimizes conflict, and was adopted by TD Bank Financial Group as part of its Environmental Management Framework in 2007.
  2. Phase out financing and advisory to projects related to oil sands, which adversely impact, in a non-reversible manner, critical natural habitats or freshwater resources used for drinking water. French bank Dexia adopted this global best practice as a part of its Energy Sector Guidelines for project finance, in 2008.
  3. Develop an action plan to reduce financed emissions of climate change pollution related to lending activities.

Impacts

Social and human rights impacts

In Canada, the toxic burden on communities near the tar sands is already enormous. In addition to direct human exposure, oil contamination in the local watershed has led to arsenic in moose meat — a dietary staple for First Nations peoples — up to 33 times acceptable levels. Deformed fish have been found in nearby Lake Athabasca; drinking water has been contaminated; and a huge swath of the vibrant Boreal forest is being transformed into a toxic moonscape. One of the largest dams in the world is restraining a giant reservoir filled with toxic sludge from processing tar sands into oil.

Processing tar sands oil means more asthma and respiratory diseases, more cancer, and more cardiovascular problems. Contaminated wastewater, containing arsenic, mercury and various carcinogens, has already been linked to elevated rates of cancer in downstream First Nations communities.

Communities including the Athabasca Chipewyan, Mikisew Cree, Chipewyan Prairie Dene, Woodland Cree, Beaver Lake Cree, and Fort Mackay First Nations have all filed lawsuits over runaway tar sands developments. Failure to obtain free, prior and informed consent of these communities creates substantial material risks to continued development in the tar sands.

Environmental and climate impacts

Greenhouse gas emissions
It takes around 3 times as much energy to produce a barrel of oil from tar sands as it does for typical oil extraction (85.5kg CO2 per barrel compared to 28.6kg CO2). The expansion of oil sands is the fastest growing contributor to Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, yet the Canadian government is failing to regulate its carbon emissions effectively with absolute targets. Canada is set to miss its Kyoto targets.

Technological solutions such as carbon capture and storage are still years away, yet the companies are seeking licenses to increase carbon emissions at a time when the scientific community agrees the developed world needs to cut emissions.

Forests & Water
The oil sands reserves cover an area of 140,000km2 of the boreal forest - equivalent  to 25% of Alberta (approximately the size of France). The extraction of oil sands requires huge impacts above the ground with survey lines, mines, processing plants, pipelines and drilling sites. Oil sands mining has left swathes of forest removed, fragmenting the habitat of the native caribou. Companies have promised to restore the habitat, but only 104 ha of land has been certified as reclaimed.

Tar sands require from 2 to 4.5 barrels of water to produce a barrel of oil.  The Athabasca river cannot supply the quantities of water required for the proposed expansion, and the ecological viability of the river is already threatened.

The waste water is so toxic it has to be stored in tailings ponds that threaten leaks into the river. Concerns have been raised by the First Nations indigenous communities that live downstream about serious health problems they fear are linked to contaminated water and fish.

Governance

Other applicable regulations

The Equator Principles are generally not applicable to financing in the tar sands!

Updates

2010-01-31 10:25:32
  • Analysts expect USD $200 billion to flow toward trebling tar sands production by 2020. 

  • Increased greenhouse gas emissions associated with tar sands development is the main reason Canada will not meet its Kyoto reduction commitments.

  • In 2010, Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions are projected be nearly 35 percent higher than 1990 levels.

Financiers

All data above are derived from Bloomberg in 2009. They have not been updated since then and therefore only provide a snapshot of the situation in 2009.

Related companies

Athabasca Oil Sands Corp Canada

Baytex Energy Trust Canada

Black Rock - international -

Bonavista Energy Trust Canada

BP United Kingdom

Bronco Energy Ltd United States

Canadian Oil Sands Trust Canada

CanWest Petroleum Corp Canada

Cenovus Canada

Chevron United States

China Investment Corporation China

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) China

CNRL Canada

Connacher Canada

ConocoPhillips United States

Devon United States

Enbridge Inc Canada

EnCana Canada

Enerplus Resources Fund Canada

ExxonMobil United States show profile

Oil and Gas Extraction

Harvest Energy Trust Canada

Husky Energy Canada

Imperial Oil Canada

Inter Pipeline Fund Canada

JACOS Canada

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP United States

Koch Resources LLC United States

Korea National Oil Corp South Korea

Marathon Oil Corp United States

MEG Energy Canada

Mocal Energy Ltd Japan

Murphy Oil Corp United States

Nexen Canada

Nippon Oil Corp Japan

Occidental Petroleum Corp United States

Oilsands Quest Inc Canada

Opti Canada Canada

Orion Energy United States

Paramount Resources Ltd Canada

Pembina Pipeline Income Fund Canada

Pengrowth Energy Trust Canada

Penn West Energy Trust Canada

Petro-Canada Canada

Petrobank Energy & Resources Ltd Canada

Royal Dutch Shell Netherlands show profile

Oil and Gas Extraction

Sinopec China

Statoil Canada (second entry - use parent company profile) Canada

Suncor Canada

Syncrude Canada

Synenco Canada

TC Energy Canada show profile

Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil | Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas

Total E&P Canada Canada

UTS Energy Corp Canada

News

| |
Type:
Year:
blog
external news
our news

HSBC's shift on energy lending has Suncor throwing its toys out of the pram

But new policy is no isolated move - finance for tar sands will dry up, just as it is doing for coal.
2018-08-09 | Ryan Brightwell – BankTrack
blog
external news
our news

Banks warned of tar sands pipelines investment risks in new report

2017-10-31 | Greenpeace, Oil Change International
blog
external news
our news

New Tar Sands Impact on Climate, Air Quality Found

2016-05-25 | Climate Central
blog
external news
our news

Keystone XL and Galilee basin threaten to bring down the global climate talks

2014-12-10 | The Guardian
blog
external news
our news

After Obama Speech: TD Announces Plan to Transition Away From Investments in Keystone XL

2013-06-28
blog
external news
our news

President Obama rejects the Keystone XL pipeline

2012-01-18 | Washington, DC | Friends of the Earth
blog
external news
our news

'Girl Band' Protest at Royal Bank of Scotland sponsored low carbon investment conference

2011-09-27 | Edinburgh | Friends of the Earth Scotland
blog
external news
our news

Canada, EU Spar Over Climate Rule

2011-09-20 | The Wall Street Journal - Europe
blog
external news
our news

1,252 arrested at White House pipeline protest

2011-09-03 | Climate and Capitalism
blog
external news
our news

Ten Years After 9/11 – Canada’s True Cost of Oil

2011-08-20 | Canada | Huffington Post
blog
external news
our news

Tar sands and Canada's meddling in EU affairs

2011-07-29 | http://www.publicserviceeurope.com
blog
external news
our news

Keith hosts tar sands event to coincide with EU Canada trade talks

2011-07-12 | UK | /www.keithtaylormep.org.uk
blog
external news
our news

Oil sands activity, not wolves, threatens Canadian caribou

2011-06-22 | Canada | Los Angelas Times
blog
external news
our news

Barclays, HSBC and RBS linked to 'dirty financing' for fossil fuels

2011-06-14 | The Ecologist
blog
external news
our news

Pollution fears as UK blocks European ban on fuel from tar sands

2011-06-01 | The UK | The Independent
blog
external news
our news

Canada tries to hide Alberta tar sands carbon emissions

2011-06-01 | Canada | The Guardian
blog
external news
our news

Madagascar fears repeat of Canada's tar sands devastation

2011-06-01 | The Ecologist
blog
external news
our news

Canada's crude politics on oil sands

2011-05-31 | Canada and Europe | The Guardian
blog
external news
our news

Small First Nations EU Tour has big Impact on Investors, Shareholders, and Governments

2011-05-27 | Strasbourg, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels | IEN, Friends of the Earth Europe and Les Amis de la Terre France
blog
external news
our news

Canada on secret oil offensive: documents

2011-05-25 | Canada | The Dominion
blog
external news
our news

First Nation Tour brings truth to France on Tar Sands Development

First Nation’s delegation spoke to EU parliamentary members, French government and French investors to address tar sands impacts on First Nation communities directly counteracting the Canadian Foreign Department’s platform on Tar Sands Development.
2011-05-20 | France | Indigenous Environmental Network - Les Amis de la Terre
blog
external news
our news

RBS sinking into sticky issues in tar sands

2011-04-28 | Canada | Forbes
blog
external news
our news

Texan Takes Fight Against Tar Sands Pipeline to Citigroup

2011-04-21 | RAN blog
blog
external news
our news

First Nations protest tar sands investment at Royal Bank of Scotland AGM

• New research shows that, since public bail-out in 2008, RBS has raised more than £5.6 billion for companies involved in controversial Canadian tar sands projects, £2.2 billion of which was in the last twelve months • Canadian First Nations representatives to voice opposition in person at RBS AGM
2011-04-19 | London | Platform
blog
external news
our news

RBS faces AGM protests over tar sands cash

2011-04-19 | The Independent
blog
external news
our news

RBS oil sands investments 'not sound', say greens

2011-04-19 | London | The Guardian
blog
external news
our news

Foes of Northern Gateway Pipeline target potential financial backers

2011-03-29 | The Globe and Mail
blog
external news
our news

Fund manager says Total ‘mistrusts’ tar sands debate as investors withdraw AGM resolution support

2011-03-29 | Responsible Investor
blog
external news
our news

No Consent? No Pipeline!

2011-03-25 | Vancouver Media Co-op
blog
external news
our news

Bank of Montreal Confronted on Indigenous Rights

2011-03-23 | RAN blog
blog
external news
our news

Protests outside treasury over RBS oil investments

2011-02-24 | London | Friends of the earth Scotland
blog
external news
our news

French oil giant Total facing investor resolution on tar sands

2011-02-09 | Responsible Investor
blog
external news
our news

HSBC takes a step away from tar sands

2011-01-26 | San Fransisco, US | Brant Olson, Rainforest Action Network
blog
external news
our news

Muck and brass

2011-01-20 | The Economist
blog
external news
our news

Stop Tar Sands trade talks

Trans-Atlantic civil society action targets Canada-Europe bilateral trade talks
2011-01-17 | Bruissels Belgium | Friends of the Earth Europe and partners
blog
external news
our news

Fraser River Indigenous Nations unite in opposition to Enbridge Pipeline Project

2011-01-06 | Common Ground
blog
external news
our news

RBC takes step away from tar sands

2010-12-23 | Canada | RAN
blog
external news
our news

Dutch unknowingly invest in extremely polluting oil production

2010-12-16 | Netherlands | Friends of the Earth Netherlands
blog
external news
our news

Banks grow wary of environmental risks

2010-08-31 | NY Times
blog
external news
our news

Decoding RBS Greenwash

2010-08-24 | RAN
blog
external news
our news

RBS targeted by protesters at international banking conference

Climate activists denounce bankers’ involvement in financing destructive tar sands
2010-07-13 | London | London camp for climate action
blog
external news
our news

RBC tables an offer on tar sands

2010-07-12 | San Franscisco | Rainforest Action Network
blog
external news
our news

BLOG WDM: Meeting with Philip Hampton, Chairman of RBS about Canadian tar sands and Vedanta Resources

2010-04-30 | Edinburgh | World Development Movement
blog
external news
our news

Tar sands tailings leakage subject of NAFTA complaint

Federal government failing to enforce fisheries law, submission alleges
2010-04-26
blog
external news
our news

BP faces investor flak over Canada tar sands project

2010-04-26 | Canada | guardian.co.uk
blog
external news
our news

Canada's First Nations peoples chastised Royal Bank of Canada (RY) for not doing enough to prevent

2010-03-04 | Toronto, Canada
blog
external news
our news

A fund for climate chaos: RBS investment in tar sand exploitation is a highly irresponsible use of public bailout money

2010-03-04 | guardian.co.uk
blog
external news
our news

RBS accused over funding for tar sands 'blood oil'

2010-03-02 | London | The Independent
blog
external news
our news

UK Taxpayers' money involved in financing controversial tar sands companies

Cashing in on Tar Sands: RBS, UK banks and Canada’s “blood oil”
2010-03-01 | London | Platform
blog
external news
our news

Royal Bank of Canada wins award for “most environmentally irresponsible company” at Davos

Tar sands financing causes global embarrassment for nation’s largest bank
2010-01-27 | Davos, Switzerland | Rainforest Action Network
blog
external news
our news

Canada failing on warming

2009-12-29 | Times Colonist (Victoria)
blog
external news
our news

UK taxpayers are funding the destruction of my homeland

2009-11-29 | guardian.co.uk
blog
external news
our news

MEPs appeal to companies to stop tar sand business

2009-11-11
blog
external news
our news

Die-In at Royal Bank of Canada Includes 100 Protesters Who Oppose the Bank’s Involvement In the Tar Sands

2009-10-27 | Ottawa, Canada
blog
external news
our news

Unlikely appeal to RBC first lady, Mrs. Janet Nixon, highlights bank’s involvement in tar sands

Rainforest Action Network scales 50' flagpole at RBC headquarters; asking for help from CEO's wife to stop expansion of destructive tar sands projects
2009-07-28 | Toronto | Rainforest Action Network
blog
external news
our news

Shifting Sands: How a changing economy could bury the tar sands industry

2009-07-01 | London | Greenpeace International
blog
external news
our news

Greenpeace vs the Alberta Oilsands

2009-04-11 | The Phoenix
blog
external news
our news

Unconventional oil could cost us the earth

New report shows that oil sands threaten climate change
2008-07-31 | London | WWF UK
blog
external news
our news

RBS adopts climate rhetoric while financing global warming

NGOs welcome shift to renewables but challenge continued distortion
2007-07-11 | London, Edinburgh, Utrecht | Platform

Documents

Type:
Year:
csr policies
2013-07-26 00:00:00

Oil Sands - Sector Policy

2013-07-26 00:00:00 | BNP Paribas
ngo documents
2011-08-04 00:00:00

Canada’s dirty lobby diary

Undermining the EU Fuel Quality Directive
2011-08-04 00:00:00 | Friends of Earth
ngo documents
2011-05-30 00:00:00

Marginal Oil : What is driving oil companies dirtier and deeper?

2011-05-30 00:00:00 | Friends of the Earth Europe, Heinrich Böll Stiftung
ngo documents
2011-04-28 00:00:00

A forest of blue: Canada’s Boreal Forest, the world’s waterkeeper

2011-04-28 00:00:00 | Jeffrey Wells, Dina Roberts, Peter Lee, Ryan Cheng, and Marcel Darveau
ngo documents
2011-04-14 00:00:00

A Risky Business: Tar Sands, Indigenous Rights and RBS

2011-04-14 00:00:00 | Canadian Indigenous Tar Sands Campaign and UK Tar Sands Network
other documents
2011-02-08 00:00:00

Government fiction vs Tar Sands FACTS

2011-02-08 00:00:00 | Greenpeace
ngo documents
2010-12-09 00:00:00

Beleggingen pensioenfondsen in olie en teerzanden

2010-12-09 00:00:00 | Milieudefensie
ngo documents
2010-07-01 00:00:00

Toxic fuels: toxic investments - Why we need mandatory greenhouse gas reporting

2010-07-01 00:00:00 | WWF-UK and the Co-operative
ngo documents
2010-06-02 00:00:00

Bankers on Tenterhooks

Climate change: co-funded by banks operating in Belgium
2010-06-02 00:00:00 | Netwerk Vlaanderen
correspondence
2010-05-17 00:00:00

Letter from Platform et al. to RBS on CEO meeting

2010-05-17 00:00:00 | Platform et al.
ngo documents
2010-05-05 00:00:00

Tar sands: Fuelling the climate crisis, undermining EU energy security and damaging development objectives

2010-05-05 00:00:00 | Friend of the Earth Europe
ngo documents
2010-03-01 00:00:00

Cashing in on tar sands, RBS, UK banks and Canada’s “blood oil”

2010-03-01 00:00:00 | Platform et al.
other documents
2009-12-16 00:00:00

Climate Leadership, Economic Prosperity: Final report on an economic study of greenhouse gas targets and policies for Canada

2009-12-16 00:00:00 | Pembina Institute & David Suzuki Foundation
ngo documents
2009-07-01 00:00:00

Shifting Sands: How a changing economy could bury the tar sands industry

2009-07-01 00:00:00 | Platform et al.
ngo documents
2009-01-31 00:00:00

RBC's Blue Water Problem

2009-01-31 00:00:00 | Rainforest Action Network
ngo documents
2008-11-19 00:00:00

Financing Global Warming: Canadian Banks and Fossil Fuels

2008-11-19 00:00:00 | RAN
csr policies
2008-09-30 00:00:00

Energy sector guidelines

2008-09-30 00:00:00 | Dexia
ngo documents
2008-09-01 00:00:00

BP and Shell: rising risks in tar sands investments

2008-09-01 00:00:00 | Platform et al.
ngo documents
2008-07-28 00:00:00

Unconventional Oil - Scraping the bottom of the barrel

2008-07-28 00:00:00 | WWF-UK and the Co-operative

Media

Oil sands - Alberta, Canada

The boreal forest is habitat to the caribou and also a valuable carbon store Open cast extraction of oil sands Oil sands means destruction of ecosystems on a vast scale In situ extraction requires more energy and water, and still fragments the forest 400 tonne trucks extract ferry the oil sands from the mine Huge 50 sq km tailings ponds are toxic liabilities Processing plants are adjacent to the River Athabasca. The McClelland Fen is a unique patterned wetland vital for migratory birds which is under threat from oil sands expansion Indigenous First Nations communities are concerned over the impacts of toxins on fish and water quailty following high rates of rare cancers The greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands are the fastest growing contributor to Canada failing to meet its Kyoto targets















Video links

http://video.uk.msn.com/watch/video/protests-at-rbs-agm/2is552oi

Links

Dirty Oil: Dogwoof Film

http://www.dogwoof.com/films/dirty-oil/

World Wide Fund For Nature - Oil sands page

http://www.panda.org/oilsands

Indigenous Environmental Network

http://www.ienearth.org

Pembina Institute - Oil Sands Watch

http://www.pembina.org/oil-sands

Rethink Alberta

http://www.rethinkalberta.com/main.php

Toxic Fuels Campaign - stop tar sands expansion

A campaign by The Co-operative Bank in partnership with WWF-UK.
http://www.co-operative.coop/toxicfuels

Oil sands truth: shut down the tar sands

Oil Sands Truth exists to disseminate information regarding the environmental, social and economic impacts of tar sands development projects being proposed and currently in progress.
http://oilsandstruth.org/
Browse
Home
Banks
Dodgy Deals
Map
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook page
Twitter channel
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands

Tel: +31 24 324 9220
Contact@banktrack.org
©2016 BankTrack                Webdesign by BankTrack and EASYmind
BankTrack is a registered charity in the Netherlands (ANBI) - RSIN 813874658
Find our privacy policy here

Stay up to date

Sign up now for all BankTrack's news


Make a comment

Your comment will be reviewed, before being posted