Canada Issuing Rules on GHG Emissions From Oil Sands

Canada is unveiling long-delayed rules on greenhouse gas emissions from the oil sands, a move that could help persuade U.S. skeptics that Ottawa is serious about curbing climate change.

Alberta’s existing policy includes a carbon fee of $15/ton on large-scale polluters that do not drive down their emissions “intensity” below certain thresholds.  The fee has raised $300 million for a fund that supports green energy projects.  Are American projects eligible under the fund?  If so, the Center needs $20 million to build a woodchip-to-electricity (Green Electric) in Claiborne County, Mississippi (More).

U.S. officials say a final decision on Keystone is unlikely before the middle of the year. The State Department is heading the federal review of the pipeline project. New Secretary of State John Kerry’s historical emphasis on mitigating climate change should make President Obama's decision on the Keystone XL pipeline interesting.
Canada says it will cut output of greenhouse gases by 17 percent of 2005 levels by 2020.

The United States is the world's second largest producer of greenhouse gases.

Canada is the biggest supplier of energy to the United States and sits on the world's third-largest reserves of crude oil.

Much of it is in the clay-like tar sands of Alberta and needs large amounts of energy to extract.

(Reuters, 2/14/2013, The Hill, 2/24/2013))