Why? Vested interests, of course.
By Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The EU wants to pass a law to keep the dirtiest transport fuel out of Europe, but shockingly the UK is blocking it.
EU law makers – not that anyone really elected them – are introducing – and this is a good move – an important bill which would impose strict pollution standards on car and lorry fuels and would effectively ban tar sands fuel, the world's most filthy and environmentally destructive transport oil. But shockingly,Britain and its government is opposing it.
The British government is bending under pressure from the oil industry and the Canadian government, who stand to make billions if they can get an ally to water down the law and remove the clause that bans tar sands. Neither of this is surprising for, while it was said about the US government that it was in bed with the oil industry, and under the two Bush presidents was the oil industry, the British government is very much undfer the thumb of the oil industry and other vested interest groups.
Who, after all, is involved in exploiting the Athabasca Tar Sands and in destroying the countryside... the likes of BP and other UK-based (and owned) oil and engineering companies. And as far as Canada is concerned, Britain still has a colonial commonwealth legacy there and will support its (former) dominion.
Tar sands fuel is nasty stuff. Oil companies destroy and degrade millions of acres of pristine Canadian forest and displace indigenous communities just to reach the unrefined bitumen. Refining it spreads cancerous heavy metals and sulphur through the air and leaves a barren, toxic landscape. The US Environmental Protection Agency says refining tar sands causes at least 82% more carbon pollution than refining conventional oil. But for Canada and the oil companies, the returns are lucrative – oil giants recently announced a $379 billion investment in them.
The EU wants to help stop this catastrophe, but the UK is standing in the way. The EU’s proposed Fuel Quality Directive would set a binding 6% climate pollution reduction target for Europe’s transport fuels by 2020. We need to make sure that our government - which likes to parade green credentials - doesn’t cave to tar sands oil interests.
Our political leaders should be securing a cleaner energy future for us and our children, not caving in to polluters that bring oil spills and climate change.
Diesel is a highly polluting fuel as it is, with its nano-particles which are responsible, according to studies, for much of the cases of asthma in adults and children that is sweeping the UK (and other countries) like an epidemic and the fuel derived from the tar sands will be worse even.
In a world with a safe and stable climate, using energy will not come at the expense of our natural environment. Canada’s tar sands are an out-dated approach to energy, where profit outweighs pollution. We have a chance to make a change now. We must make it clear to our leaders that we, as the people, will not stand for this and that we will not stand for profit before people attitudes.
SOURCES
UK undermining EU tar sands ban
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/may/30/uk-undermining-tar-sands-ban
Pollution fears as UK blocks European ban on fuel from tar sands
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/pollution-fears-as-uk-blocks-european-ban-on-fuel-from-tar-sands-2291598.html
Why Europe could decide the fate of Canada’s tar sands
http://thetyee.ca/News/2010/10/20/EuropeDecidesFate/
Canada tries to hide tar sands carbon emissions http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2011/jun/01/canada-tar-sands-carbon-emissions
US Environmental Protection Agency review of tar sands impact http://yosemite.epa.gov/oeca/webeis.nsf/(PDFView)/20100126/$file/20100126.PDF?OpenElement (pdf)
© 2011
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