Greenpeace will file a false advertising complaint against six major Canadian oil sands producers with the Competition Bureau on Thursday. The campaign, entitled “Let’s get this straight”, was broadcast at major events such as the World Cup, the Australian Open Tennis and the Super Bowl.
Posted at 6:00 am
The Pathways Alliance, which brings together the country’s six largest oil sands companies, says in a campaign launched last August that it is “making great strides toward carbon neutrality” and will “help our country secure a sustainable future.” These statements are “false” and “misleading,” Greenpeace says in the complaint, which La Presse was able to consult.
“The message being sent is that the Alliance takes the climate crisis seriously and is taking the necessary steps to address it. But in reality it continues to increase its production of fossil fuels. It doesn’t fit the “sustainable” image it’s trying to convey to the Canadian public,” said Salomé Sané, Greenpeace’s climate campaign director.
SCREEN CAPTURE OF THE NEW PATHWAYS ALLIANCE WEBSITE
The agency is asking the Competition Bureau to investigate the six companies and fine them $10 million, or 3% of their worldwide gross revenues. It also demands that the New Pathways Alliance issue a retraction and remove any mention of “carbon neutrality” from its public communications.
A 43-page complaint
In the complaint, Greenpeace argues that the coalition’s fossil fuel production is increasing and that it cannot “move towards carbon neutrality” as it claims. “In 2022, five of those six companies collectively produced a record average of 3.2 million barrels of crude oil per day,” production set to be surpassed this year and into the next decade, according to the competition bureau’s filing.
The New Paths Alliance also argues that it will invest billions of dollars in carbon capture and storage “despite uncertainty about the technology’s effectiveness, reliability and cost,” Greenpeace says.
In addition, the coalition presents itself as a climate leader, but does not fulfill its promises, argues the environmental association. “More than 80% of their emissions are not accounted for in their carbon neutrality plan,” the 43-page complaint reads.
If the six companies are fined, Greenpeace wants the money to go to the Environmental Damages Fund and organizations, preferably indigenous, to clean up oil sands.
Complaints increase
Complaints against companies claiming to be carbon neutral are increasing in Canada, according to Marc Bishai, a lawyer at the Center Québécois du droit de l’environnement. However, investigations into so-called “climate greenwashing” are still ongoing.
” Office [de la concurrence] must first decide whether to open an investigation. He then has to decide whether to negotiate an out-of-court settlement, as in the Keurig coffee capsule case, or to start court proceedings, which can be lengthy,” explains the lawyer.
However, Bishai says the competition law has some shortcomings. For example, how should a company prove that it will be carbon neutral by 2050? he asks himself.
“We know companies can’t make false or misleading claims, but we don’t know what authorities consider false or misleading when it comes to carbon neutrality. It’s like trying to play soccer with an invisible goal. We know it exists, but we don’t know where it is,” said Bishai, who hopes the ongoing public consultation on law reform will lead to changes.
Formed in 2021, the Pathways Alliance brings together Canadian Natural Resources Limited, Cenovus Energy, ConocoPhillips Canada, Imperial, MEG Energy and Suncor Energy. These companies produce 95% of the oil from Canada’s tar sands, according to the Alliance’s website. She preferred to await the complaint before commenting on it.