Skip to content
Oil Change International | Data Driven, People Powered. Oil Change International | Data Driven, People Powered.
  • About
    • Our Work
    • Values
    • Team
    • Jobs at OCI
    • Ways to Give
  • Program Areas
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • North Sea
    • United States
    • Global Industry
    • Global Public Finance
    • Global Policy
  • Blog
  • Press Releases
  • Publications
Donate
  • Get Updates
    • Share on Bluesky Share on Bluesky Bluesky (opens in a new window)
    • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter Twitter (opens in a new window)
    • Share on Instagram Share on Instagram Instagram (opens in a new window)
    • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn LinkedIn (opens in a new window)
    • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook Facebook (opens in a new window)
Donate
  • About
    • Our Work
    • Values
    • Team
    • Jobs at OCI
    • Ways to Give
  • Program Areas
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • North Sea
    • United States
    • Global Industry
    • Global Public Finance
    • Global Policy
  • Blog
  • Press Releases
  • Publications
    • Get Updates
    • Share on Bluesky Bluesky
    • Share on Twitter Twitter
    • Share on Instagram Instagram
    • Share on LinkedIn LinkedIn
    • Share on Facebook Facebook
Go to OCI Homepage
Current Affairs
Published: October 08, 2014

Europe Buckles to Canadian Bullying on Climate

A proposal to label the dirty tar sands as more polluting than conventional oil has been spectacularly abandoned by the European Commission after a four year lobbying campaign by the Canadians.

  • Latest from OCI
  • Blogs listing
  • Europe Buckles to Canadian Bullying on Climate
    • Blog Post Canada Climate change Current Affairs European Union Featured Fuel Quality Directive lobbying News oil sands tar sands
Andy Rowell

When not blogging for OCI, Andy is a freelance writer and journalist specializing in environmental issues.

[email protected]

tar sands 2A proposal to label the dirty tar sands as more polluting than conventional oil has been spectacularly abandoned by the European Commission after a four year lobbying campaign by the Canadians.

In the end, the Commission buckled, its brittle backbone broken by four relentless years of Canadian lobbying, arm twisting, blatant bullying and threats.

Instead of the Commission standing proudly on a pedestal of landmark climate legislation, its promise to be a leader for the climate now lies in tatters.

As so often in the past, the oil industry and its political pals has won. The climate has lost.

The commission’s new watered-down proposal for the legilsation concerned – the Fuel Quality Directive – will only now require refiners to report an average emissions value of their feedstock, and will no longer single out the tar sands.

Canadian politicians are gloating, as the dramatic capitulation by the EU paves the way for exports of the dirty tar sands to Europe.

“This is very positive news for Alberta and for the country,” Alberta premier Jim Prentice said yesterday. “The Alberta government as well as the national government has worked hard on this and I know our government has met with officials from almost all the EU member states and has emphasized Alberta’s history of responsibly developing its resources.”

For many people who know the tar sands, the concept of developing them responsibly is a complete misnomer. The decision can only be seen as a dark day for Europe.

For years I and many others have documented the unprecedented lobbying campaign by the Canadians, their oil industry allies, and sympathetic nations like the UK to undermine the legislation concerned, called the Fuel Quality Directive.

Working with Friends of the Earth Europe I wrote two reports on the subject. The first report, entitled Dirty Lobby Dairy, revealed that there had been over 110 lobby events organised by the Canadians on the tar sands and FQD between September 2009 and early 2011. This is over one per week.

The intense lobbying has continued ever since, with Canada increasingly using trade arguments against the EU, including a threat to take Europe to the WTO.  “The pressure from Canada was immense,” said one commission official.

Canada also courted powerful allies within the EU like the UK. “It is no secret that our initial proposal could not go through due to resistance faced in some member states,” adds the out-going EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard, who had championed the original proposals.

Although Canada currently only exports tiny amounts of the tar sands, this is set to increase rapidly, especially given European tensions with Russia. Indeed, ironically the second shipment of 700,000 barrels of the tar sands only arrived in Sardinia yesterday.

It is predicted that without any controls, the imports of tar sands from Canada could rocket to 700,000 barrels per day by 2020, equivalent to six million extra cars on the road.

The British Green MP Caroline Lucas is one of those outraged by the decision. “The proposal is scandalous – it completely defies reason, enormous public opposition and paves the way for big business to profit from gross exploitation of the earth’s resources. Tar sand oil is one of the dirtiest, most polluting fuels.”

The Commission’s new proposals will now be debated by EU member states over the next couple of months before the European Parliament vote on the issue. But for Canada, the hard work to sell their dirty fuel is over. The rest should be a formality.

Oil Change International | Data Driven, People Powered.
Donate Get Updates
Back to the top
  • Keep in touch

  • Oil Change International
    714 G St. SE, #202
    Washington, DC 20003
    United States

    +1.202.518.9029

    [email protected]

    • Share on Bluesky Bluesky (opens in a new window)
    • Share on Twitter Twitter (opens in a new window)
    • Share on Instagram Instagram (opens in a new window)
    • Share on LinkedIn LinkedIn (opens in a new window)
    • Share on Facebook Facebook (opens in a new window)
  • Quick links

  • About OCI
  • Our Values
  • Jobs at OCI
  • Ways to Give
  • Media Centre

  • Publications
  • Press
  • Associated websites

  • Big Oil Reality Check
  • Energy Finance Database
  • Permian Climate Bomb
  • Site map
  • Privacy policy

Copyright © 2025 Oil Change International. Web design by Fat Beehive