Last week, the European Commission announced a key change to legislation that could virtually stop the import of fuel made from tar sands into the EU. If it becomes law, it would make tar sands projects an even more risky bet for energy companies and investors.
Specifically, they hope to include a “reference value” for tar sands in a key piece of European law, the Fuel Quality Directive, which aims to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released by our fuel, not just from exhaust pipes but during production as well. It sounds obscure - and it is - but it would all but close the European Union as a market for fuel derived from tar sands. Despite this, the UK Government is lobbying other EU member states to oppose this really positive piece of legislation, but it looks like the word is finally beginning to get out: step by step, it is possible to go beyond oil.
It really is the issue of the moment. Last month, hundreds of activists – including Hollywood stars and high school students - were arrested outside the White House in protests to stop the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry tar sands crude form Canada through the heart of America to the refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas for export to Europe. Approval for the construction of the pipeline was seen as a dead certainty, but concerns over leaks from the pipeline running through one of the key clean water supplies for the American Midwest, as well as other environmental issues have a cast a huge shadow over the decision to be taken by the Obama administration.
It just might be that the tide is beginning to turn. Two key factors, part of laws being drafted thousands of miles apart - in Brussels, Washington, D.C. and Omaha, Nebraska - could spell the end for tar sands, one of the dirtiest fuels on the planet. If demand from Europe for tar sands oil evaporates, then the Keystone pipeline looks far less attractive.
This is a defining moment – we’ve got a real chance to make sure we keep one of the world’s most damaging fuels out of Europe.
