Utoo Rsadio with Other News Sources - September 21, 2024 - Canada's oilsands industry faces pressure to reduce its greenhouse gas footprint, despite new anti-greenwashing legislation.

The Pathways Alliance, a consortium of six companies committed to achieving net-zero emissions from oilsands production, has been largely silent since the federal government passed an amendment to Canada's Competition Act containing a new anti-greenwashing provision.

However, clean energy think tank Pembina Institute believes that concerns about the new law shouldn't prevent Pathways from announcing final investment decisions on carbon capture and storage projects.

The alliance has not yet given the project an official green light in the form of a final investment decision.

The new greenwashing rules require corporations to provide evidence to support their environmental claims.

A survey by ATB Capital Markets found 53% of oil and gas producers said the new anti-greenwashing rules in the Competition Act will be "very impactful" to their company's environmental reporting practices.

The lack of a final investment decision is concerning given the oilsands industry is Canada's heaviest-emitting sector and carbon capture and storage projects are already going forward elsewhere.