TYLER IRVING (read by DARYN CAISTER): Canada is not only exporting dirty oil; it’s exporting dirty policies. That’s the conclusion of a report released this week by the Climate Action Network, an association over 50 environmental, faith and community groups.

The report documents Canada’s lobbying actions against three foreign pieces of energy policy: California’s Low-Carbon Fuel Standard, Section 526 of the 2007 U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act, and the European Union’s Fuel Quality Directive. All three would have forced their respective jurisdictions to avoid so-called “dirty” fuel sources, exactly the kind that are created from tar sands operations in western Canada.

The report references dozens of documents, including letters from provincial and federal politicians, diplomats and lobbyists. It argues that Canada should spend less time and money trying to kill foreign legislation and more trying to improve its own environmental record. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY (read by PETER STOCK): The prestigious journal Nature is calling Canada’s tar sands “an environmentalist’s nightmare.” This criticism comes in an editorial published this week in the international scientific journal. The editorial says that Alberta appears to have tough carbon pricing that makes it seem more progressive. The editorial cites positively the fines against Syncrude for ducks who disastrously landed in tailings ponds. But the editorial says that, in action, Alberta’s regulations generally lack teeth and enforcement, and have been bad for the environment and produced too much carbon emissions. The journal concludes: “Canada’s tar sands, like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, are a warning sign of things to come. Future sources of fossil fuels will only get dirtier and riskier.” The editorial comes on the eve of the United Nations climate change conference in Mexico. The editorial also questions whether Canada’s international reputation of being a “green” country is deserved. Alberta’s oil sands are a popular target for international criticism from environmentalists, such as the high profile campaign from movie director James Cameron earlier this year. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING (read by DARYN CAISTER): An Alberta company has been fined $125,000 over the death of about 300 birds in an oil spill.

On Nov. 19, Harvest Operations Corp. pleaded guilty to charges under the Migratory Birds Act. The birds died in 2008 after becoming stuck in oil that had leaked from an abandoned well. An Environment Canada investigation showed that the well had been leaking for three months before it was discovered, in all spilling about 60 barrels of oil into the environment. The Alberta Wilderness Association, an environmental group, has called for better monitoring of abandoned wells, which may number in the hundreds of thousands.

Bird deaths due to oil operations continue to be a major concern in Alberta. Last month, Syncrude agreed to pay $3 million over the death of 1600 ducks in one of its tailings ponds in 2008. Days later, a further 300 birds died after landing on another tailings pond, also operated by Syncrude. The company blamed inclement weather which made its deterrent systems ineffective. [ index ]

CHRIS HANNAY (read by PETER STOCK): Toronto’s David Miller may be packing up his office as mayor, but he’s got at least one new job to look forward to. Miller announced this week he’ll become an advisor to the World Bank on environment and city issues. The position is said to be a part-time, unpaid advisory role, though with some token compensations. The environment has long been a passion for the politically left-leaning mayor. Miller will also continue to be involved with the C40 Cities climate leadership group. The initiative teams up major cities around the world to work on climate change issues. Miller is the group’s outgoing chair, and is being replaced by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. David Miller’s replacement as Toronto mayor, Rob Ford, will be taking over December 1. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING (read by DARYN CAISTER): The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Amundsen is the state of the art for climate research in Canada, but for $50,000 a day it can be hired out by anyone, including oil companies.

CBC news reported this week that in the last year, the Amundsen has been chartered by both British Petroleum and Imperial Oil. The oil companies were doing research on the environmental impacts of potential drilling operations in the Arctic.

The news outraged both the federal NDP and environmental groups such as Equiterre, who argued that taxpayer money should not have been used to benefit oil companies. However, the decision was defended by representatives of the coast guard and by ArcticNet, the scientific group based at Laval University who runs the vessel. They say that the data from the Amundsen is freely available and benefits all Canadians, regardless of who is sponsoring the study. They also say that the $50,000 a day charter fee helps defray the high costs of operating the icebreaker. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE (read by VANESSA PURDY): The first ever International Forum on Tiger Conservation wrapped up this week in St. Petersburg, Russia, after the leaders of Russia and 12 other Asian countries convened to discuss the threat of extinction facing tigers. Once numbering over 100,000 animals a century ago, estimates now place the number of wild tigers at 3,200, and conservationists believe the tiger faces imminent extinction without intervention. The summit ended with the 13 nations signing the St. Petersburg Declaration, an agreement that aims to double the number of wild tigers by 2022; the next year of the tiger under the Chinese calendar. The agreement covers a broad range of issues, include tackling illegal poaching as well preserving migration corridors between tiger habitats. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and World Bank President Robert Zoellick have both taken strong personal interests in tiger conservation and were instrumental in putting together the summit. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE (read by VANESSA PURDY): China’s chief climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua officially acknowledged this week that China has become the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gasses, overtaking the United States. China released an estimated 7.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2009, accounting for almost a quarter of global emissions. Though China emits the most carbon in absolute numbers, it still emits less carbon per person than most developed countries, a fact that it is quick to point out during global climate negotiations. The admission comes as nations prepare to meet for the UN’s 2010 Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico next week. [ index ]

BRYANT BOULIANNE (read by VANESSA PURDY): The global financial crisis of 2008 caused a drastic slowdown of the world economy, which in turn caused a drop in energy consumption from transportation and manufacturing. The drop in carbon emissions due to the recession were not as drastic as originally expected, however, according to researchers at the Global Carbon Project. During the height of the recession, expectations were that economic slowdown would cause a 2.8% reduction in carbon emissions. The new estimates over the last two years put the decline at around 1.3%, less than half of what was expected. While many developed nations in Europe and North America saw emissions fall, carbon output actually increased in China and India. Researchers expect that recovery in the economy should once again lead to rises in global carbon emissions. [ index ]