A new
environmental report is claiming the Energy East pipeline that would
bring oilsands bitumen to the Irving Oil refinery will increase
greenhouse gas emissions enough to wipe out all the gains caused by the
elimination of coal-fired power plants in Ontario and be the equivalent
of adding 7 million new cars on the roads.
Clare
Demerse of the Pembina Institute, who wrote the report, says regulators
should consider the proposed pipeline’s effect on climate change when
hearings are held on the project.
The
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and the National Energy
Board have said the expected tripling of output from the oilsands over
the next 16 years depends heavily on new pipelines being built.