News Release - December 8, 2014

Manitoba citizen groups publish open letter to National Energy Board, asking for a fulsome review of the Energy East pipeline climate impacts

WINNIPEG – Opposition to TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline is growing in Manitoba. A coalition of concerned environment, community, and religious groups spoke out against the proposed pipeline on Monday, citing environmental impacts as their main concerns with the proposal. 

Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition, the Council of Canadians, Idle No More, Kairos, University of Winnipeg Students Association, and the Wilderness Committee held a news conference in Winnipeg on Monday, to voice their objection to Energy East. The groups penned an open letter to the National Energy Board (NEB) to include full climate change impacts in its review of the project.

“In all levels of authority—from schools to municipalities to insurance companies—climate impacts are being assessed. The NEB must do the same, and look at both upstream and downstream impacts of pipelines,” said Erin Keating. “I need to know that in this country, the health of the planet and stabilization of the climate is top priority in every governmental decision made."

Several weeks ago, TransCanada filed a formal proposal with the NEB for their Energy East pipeline, slated to transport 1.1 million barrels of heavy diluted bitumen through an aging natural gas pipeline in six provinces, including Manitoba, to ports and refineries in Eastern Canada. TransCanada’s project proposal submission to the National Energy Board only includes greenhouse emissions from construction and day-to-day operations of the pipeline, not the upstream or downstream impacts.

“Any fair review must include the impacts of actually producing and using the oil travelling through the pipeline,” says Mary Robinson, chair of Council of Canadians Winnipeg Chapter.

The environmental focus of this filing includes construction and operation of the pipeline, and does not address the upstream actions: the impact that tars sands oil extraction has on climate change. Recent reports estimate that global fossil fuel reserves across the world are five times higher than our global carbon budget--the amount of carbon emissions we can release into the atmosphere while keeping the increase in surface temperature of earth within the targeted 2 degrees Celsius. Proven fuel reserves in the tar sands account for account for 16% of the world’s carbon budget.

“I can’t keep holding out hope that our governments are taking climate change seriously,” said Alex Paterson, spokesperson for Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition. “If we fully develop the tar sands this century, we go over our carbon budget. If the NEB won’t consider this, how can I believe they are conducting a legitimate review?”

The coalition in Manitoba is also concerned that the proposal fails to take into account the social impacts of climate change that would be triggered if this project goes ahead.

“Climate change affects human lives around the world. Kairos believes that climate justice involves making real reductions in carbon emissions,” said Carin Crowe, Regional Chair of Kairos Cambrian-Agassiz Region.

“We know what the conclusion will be if the NEB reviews the climate impacts of this proposal,” said Eric Reder, Campaign Director for the Wilderness Committee. “The science is clear that developing new fossil fuel infrastructure—especially for an extreme energy source like the tar sands—will lead to runaway climate chaos.”

–30–

For more information, contact:

Alex Paterson, Spokesperson, No Energy East Manitoba - Energy Justice Coalition
(204)-298-2250

Eric Reder, Campaign Director, Wilderness Committee
(204) 997-8584

Top photo: Press conference to outline opposition to Energy East proposal in Winnipeg, Dec. 8, 2014 (Laura Smith)