Michael Hastings

Extraction of oil from Canadian tar sands is becoming increasingly contentious as it is claimed the process is one of the highest in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. But now, along with environmental campaigners, some shareholders in the companies that mine and fund tar sand oil are beginning to protest at the activity. British companies spearheading the drive to exploit the Canadian tar sands in Alberta are coming under increasing attack from a group of shareholders and environmentalists who are planning to turn annual meetings into a referendum on these operations. Friends of the Earth, Platform and other green groups have published a new report which claims that the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has provided loans which in part support this kind of mining. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California governor, has led the battle against the use of oil extracted from Canadian tar sands and the British government has made vociferous commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Tar sand oil has soared up the investment, political and environmental agenda since the Copenhagen climate change summit highlighted the need for a clampdown on the most carbon-intensive activities that are the biggest threat to global warming. Tar sands are deposits of sand and clay saturated with bitumen, which is oil in a semi-solid state. The region where they have been found, in the ancient forests of Alberta, is thought to cover an area larger than England. When the bitumen is close to the surface it is excavated in an open-cast mine. Both BP and Shell insist that they can extract oil from the tar sands in a responsible way, with the latter arguing that carbon dioxide emissions can be minimised using carbon capture and storage techniques. Shell says a planned carbon capture plant in Alberta would take more than one million tonnes a year out of the atmosphere by 2015 and could be expanded in the future. And the RBS claims that it is a major supporter of renewable energy projects. “If we could treble our renewables financing overnight, we would,” writes Andrew Cave of the RBS in the Guardian. “Unfortunately there are just not enough viable projects needing finance because of issues over planning, grid connections, cost and technology risks,” he says. “Whether we like it or not, our society is currently dependent on hydrocarbons.” Companies exploiting tar sands are coming under fire. Nigel Williams reports. Tar troubles