Lax CO2 targets a boon for Canada oil patch: study - Reuters

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Lax CO2 targets a boon for Canada oil patch: study

By Scott Haggett
Tue Jun 5, 7:11 PM ET

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canadian oil sands producers may
end up making a profit by meeting the federal government's
greenhouse gas emission targets as new regulations mandate
lower cuts in carbon dioxide output than the industry has
already pledged, a study says.

In a study commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund, the U.K.-
based Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research said emission
targets unveiled in April by Canada's Conservative government
were below the voluntary commitments and energy efficiency
savings already promised by the industry.

The study said the targets set by Ottawa for the rapidly
expanding oil sands sector are lax enough to allow producers
to end up selling emission credits.

"The oil sands industry may not only incur insignificant costs
from the regulation (of the order of less than 5 cents per
barrel on average), but may actually make a net profit from
trading credits within the new emissions trading scheme that
will be established under the new regulations," the study
concluded.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070605/wl_canada_nm/canada_climate_oilsands_col