Rhetoric claiming the oil sands are a major contributor to global warming may simply be hot air, according to a new report from the Council on Foreign Relations.
"The relative contribution of the oil sands to global climate change is often overblown. People talk about this as being the make-or-break for climate change. It's not," Michael Levi, of the CFR, told CTV Power Play's Tom Clark on Friday.
In his new report, titled the Canadian Oil Sands: Energy Security vs. Climate Change, Levi points out that the oil sands only contribute one 10th of a per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions.
By 2030, he said, the oil sands would have the ability to contribute about four or five million barrels a day to global oil production, which would likely be at 100 million barrels a day.
Nonetheless, he said emissions from the Alberta oil fields should be reduced because of its overall impact on environments in North America.
In addition, pollution from the oil sands hurts local bodies of water and forests, he said, but that should be the concern of Canada and "not something that U.S. policy should be directed towards."
South of the border debate has been heating up over energy security, he said. American politicians argue that using Canada's large reserves of oil would wean the U.S. off of foreign oil.
Levi said the greater access to Canadian oil would push down prices and would be less vulnerable to interruptions from weather phenomena and various security threats.
Still, he said climate change is the biggest problem facing the planet and that the U.S. should remain focused on cutting emissions by establishing a cap-and-trade system that applies to both Canada and the U.S.
Since Canada's economy is much smaller than the U.S.'s, prices would be more unpredictable using cap and trade, he said.
"By merging the two systems Canada can benefit from the price stability and frankly from the price moderation," he said, adding that the unified arrangement would hold each country to their obligations to reduce emissions.
Conservative MP James Rajotte agreed, saying that the Conservatives favour a North American cap and trade system.
"We need as many of the regulations as possible to be harmonized between the two countries," he told CTV's Tom Clark Friday.
NDP MP Don Davies also agreed, saying that it is important to co-ordinate both countries' efforts to fight global warming.
Liberal MP Mark Holland, on the other hand, said while it is important to reduce emissions, having identical standards is not something he could support, adding that it would put Canada at a "great competitive disadvantage"
"But I think just falling into a trap of being lock step in what the Americans do means that we're just trapped into doing what their polices are even if they're adverse for our country," he said on Power Play Friday.
