New Report From Canada’s Oil Regulator Shows TMX and Keystone Pipelines Not Needed Even With Only Minimum Climate Action

Groups Say Federal Government Must Change Course with TMX, Recoup Billions of Unspent Tax Dollars

For Immediate Release

November 24, 2020, Vancouver—A new report by the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) shows the Trans Mountain and Keystone pipelines are not needed even if only minimum climate action is taken. The analysis shows that even with modest new climate policies (but not enough to meet Canada’s targets) there’s no need building the pipelines while the analysis undermines Prime Minister Trudeau’s position that the expansion of oil production and TMX and KXL are consistent with Canada’s climate policy. Groups are calling on the Federal government to listen to its own analysis and change course while only a small percentage of the Trans Mountain pipeline has been built and before billions have been wasted. 

“What many economists, environmental groups, First Nations and others have been saying has now been confirmed by Canada’s own energy regulator - Canada can’t build Trans Mountain or Keystone and meet its climate commitments,” said Cam Fenton of 350.org.

“The CER and Trudeau have previously justified the infringement of Indigenous rights and threatening of endangered species with the so-called economic benefits,” said Rueben George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation Sacred Trust Initiative. “With this new analysis, that justification has evaporated. If we are serious about climate action and reconciliation in Canada, construction on TMX must stop now.”

The increase in oil production forecast by CER can easily be accommodated for the next decade with existing pipelines, including announced optimizations and the Line 3 expansion, without new rail or the TMX and Keystone XL pipelines. 

“Only a small percentage of the TMX pipeline has been built, and this construction season saw additional delays and rising costs. There is time to change course and spend the many remaining billions on real long-term economic solutions for Alberta and Canada,” said Alexandra Woodsworth of Dogwood.

Energy giantBPforecasts that oil demand has peaked and will decline by 2050, while theInternational Energy Agency forecasts that oil demand will peak by 2030 and will have to decline by almost one-third by 2040 to meet Paris climate change objectives.

"This report makes it clear that new fossil fuel projects won't be the way to recover from COVID-19, for that we need this government to invest in good, climate jobs and prioritize a just transition, rather than their current push to keep building pipelines we don't need and won't ever fill," said Sven Biggs of Stand.earth. 

The Trans Mountain Expansion Project was designed to increase the capacity of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline from 300,000 bpd to 890,000 bpd.  

The estimated costs of the project have doubled from the original $5.5 billion to $12.6 billion and the date of completion has been delayed from 2017 to December 2022.

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For more information, please contact

Cam Fenton, 350.org, 604-369-2155, cam@350.org

Sven Biggs, Stand.earth, 778.882.8354, sven@stand.earth  

Peter McCartney, Wilderness Committee, 778.239.1935, peter@wildernesscommittee.org

Alexandra Woodsworth, Dogwood, 778.316.5558, alexandra@dogwoodbc.ca

Eugene Kung, West Coast Environmental Law, 604-601-2514, ekung@wcel.org

Rueben George, Tseil-Waututh Nation Sacred Trust Initiative, 604-720-4630

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Natalie Southworth