News
Publish date: November 15, 2009
Written by: Veronica Webster
News
Oil or tar sands is a mixture of sand, clay, water and especially heavy crude oil. Canada has the world’s largest oil sands deposits.
The extraction of oil from tar sands produces vast levels of GHG because the oil is technically and energetically intensive to extract. In fact, a previous study by StatoilHydro stated that the estimated emissions from tar sands production can be up to 10 times higher than the oil produced on the Norwegian continental shelf. This inevitably contributes significantly to global warming.
In order to meet a reduction of GHG of 85 percent by 2050 as recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the extraction of oil from tar sands is not a viable option, with or without CCS. A huge amount of energy is required to strip the heavy oil from the sand and upgrade (physically and chemically treat the heavy oil to create amendable petroleum products). In addition the lifecycle emissions remain high as the oil is usually burned in small combustion engines without CCS.
“CCS is a necessary and appropriate solution for the reduction of CO2 emissions from sources such as energy plants, but inappropriate for the extraction of oil from tar sands,” says Gøril Tjetland from Bellona.
Read more on tar sands on Bellona Web and view the Co-operative Financial Services and WWF-UK report here.
Recent attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front of the war," the UN atomic agency's director general said last week.
After years of inaction, Germany is working on its Carbon Management Strategy to resolve how CCS can play a role in climate action in industry. At the end of February, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action published first key points and a proposal to amend the law Kohlenstoffdioxid Speicherungsgesetz (KSpG). Bellona Deutschland, who was actively involved in the previous stakeholder dialogue submitted a statement in the association hearing.
In the midst of a global discussion on whether natural gas should be used as a transitional fuel and whether emissions from its extraction, production, transport and use are significantly less than those from other fossil fuels, Russia has developed ambitious plans to increase its own production of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the Arctic – a region with 75% of proven gas reserves in Russia – to raise its share in the international gas trade.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our main focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution risks and climate change.