Over the last couple of years the Canadians have become accustomed to growing international criticism of their reckless and belligerent exploitation of the tar sands. They have aggressively just carried on drilling, nonetheless.
Ignoring the potential threat of further sanctions, both Exxon and BP have strengthened ties with Russia’s state-controlled oil company, Rosneft, in deals that can also only be seen as bad news for the climate.
You will not have heard of the Aleksey Kosygin, but next week this obscure sounding tanker is set to make history as it becomes the first major shipment of Canadian tar sands to arrive in Europe.
The American authorities have “slashed” the amount of recoverable oil from the vast California Monterey shale deposits by a whopping 96 per cent.
The percentage of people who support fracking is now below 50 per cent in both the UK and US and is continuing to decline. Conversely the amount of people opposed to the controversial technique continues to grow.
As the evidence mounts that fracking is causing chronic air pollution and health problems, American civil society organisations are pressuring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take action.
