The National Energy Board (NEB) has turned down Stand.earth’s request that it undertake a review of the climate impacts of the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, as it did for the equally contentious Energy East pipeline in 2017.
Stand “filed a motion to the federal regulator on January 21 demanding it add consideration of the project’s upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emissions to its review of project-related marine shipping issues,” The Canadian Press reports. “It asked the board to apply the same standard to the project as it did with the Energy East pipeline before it submits its final report to the federal government, expected this Friday.”
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But the Board ruled Tuesday that its latest Trans Mountain review “is designed only to address issues arising out of the Federal Court of Appeal ruling in August that set aside its previous approval,” CP states. “It says Stand.earth’s proposal missed its deadlines and repeated requests made by several other parties that had already been denied.”
“The National Energy Board has denied this motion because the Trudeau government specifically excluded climate change impacts from a full review of this pipeline,” countered Stand.earth International Program Director Tzeporah Berman. “The federal government says it is a climate champion, but it won’t review climate impacts and it is desperate to build more fossil fuel infrastructure. This decision exposes the federal government’s climate change agenda as political and not based on science.”
“When he thought it would get him elected, Trudeau promised climate reviews for all major infrastructure projects,” added Stand Climate and Energy Campaigner Sven Biggs. “This pipeline didn’t get a climate review for two reasons. First, the math simply doesn’t add up—we can’t build it and meet Canada’s climate goals. Second, the oil industry doesn’t want a climate review. From the buyout to the restrictions in the NEB process, Trudeau is being led around by the oil industry like a show pony.”
