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“Canada says the standards would instantly constrict a possible future market for its oil sands — tar-like oil that is trapped in sediment and forms the world’s second-largest proven crude reserves after those of Saudi Arabia.
“Canada has been lobbying the Commission and member states intensively to avoid a separate default value for fuel derived from tar sands,” said a briefing note prepared by EU officials for climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard.
“It has raised the issue in the context of EU-Canada negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement,” adds the note, one of several from last year released last week under freedom-of-information laws.
Sources said on Monday that Canada had gone further, threatening to void the free trade deal, which is expected to be agreed later this year. There was no immediate comment from the Canadian embassy in Brussels.
Environmentalists oppose the tar sands industry, saying the extra energy needed to extract oil from the site in the western Canadian province of Alberta intensifies the impact on climate, while polluted waste water harms wildlife and pollutes rivers.”
Read more: Reuters
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