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Carl Meyer

@meyer.bsky.social

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Climate investigations reporter at The Narwhal. thenarwhal.ca/author/carl-meyer/

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The Narwhal's avatar The Narwhal @thenarwhalca.bsky.social
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Accused of being Canada’s biggest financial backer of fossil fuel projects, RBC is feeling the heat — even if it doesn’t say that publicly.

@meyer.bsky.social has the story, the latest in our Green Economy series with @thelocal.bsky.social

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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The carbon pipeline and several of the oilsands facilities are on Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation territory, and the nation recently asked Alberta and its energy regulator to carry out their own environmental assessment, saying it raises “a host of health and safety concerns.”

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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The agency says to date it has not received info to indicate any Pathways activities will trigger a review, but this could change. Its request came before the Supreme Court opinion forced the govt to amend the law, but analysts say a federal assessment is still doable and needed

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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Minister Steven Guilbeault says even he isn’t aware of exactly what Pathways plans to do. “Frankly — there’s no project to speak of right now” he told me. He also said he hadn’t allowed it to skip a review. “We can’t create a pathway for Pathways that would circumvent our laws”

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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Pathways asks were seen by Impact Assessment Agency staff. Some were assigned to a working group with industry officials advising a govt-Pathways committee, that appears to fit a Pathways description of “a single, federal table that would bring all of the key departments together”

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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The NDA came into force in April 2023, just a few months after Pathways wrote the government with its list of requests. The government did not previously disclose details of this industry lobbying or of its non-disclosure agreement until I filed access to information requests.

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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Pathways also asked for public subsidies up to 50% of operating costs for carbon capture and storage projects, and credits for meeting clean fuel standards for selling exported crude processed with carbon capture, something Irving Oil has also lobbied for

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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The Pathways Alliance oilsands firms wanted “assurance” they could skip a federal environmental assessment. The government agreed to a committee where the lobbyists met directly with public officials. The two signed an NDA to exchange "confidential" info: thenarwhal.ca/pathways-all...

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“I’m trying to protect, as much as I can, the integrity of what we still have left" - minister says government had little choice but to cut a deal on Highway 413 thenarwhal.ca/guilbeault-h...

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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New peer-reviewed research finds Canada's largest oilsands companies are “misleading” the public and omitting "important information" about the industry's carbon pollution: thenarwhal.ca/pathways-all...

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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Irving Oil argued it was blindsided by a “last minute” change in federal pollution rules. After the government rejected its request to change the policy in its favour, arguing to do so would compromise the whole clean fuels program, Irving Oil kept trying anyway: thenarwhal.ca/irving-oil-c...

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The Narwhal's avatar The Narwhal @thenarwhalca.bsky.social
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Over 1,000 oil and gas companies got a corporate tax break in 2022 for operating as a “small business,” according to the Canada Revenue Agency, reports @meyer.bsky.social

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Edelman has a list of “climate commitments” like engaging clients on net-zero. Lululemon says it’s focused on fostering a sustainable garment industry. But @aronczyk.bsky.social described the situation as a “pattern of behaviour that shows Edelman’s disregard for global environmental crises.”

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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In Canada, Edelman ran into controversy a decade ago after leaked documents detailed its advice to TC Energy to target the opposition to Energy East, a proposed cross-country oil pipeline, in a negative PR campaign. Scientists have called on PR firms like Edelman to drop fossil fuel clients.

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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When we reached out to Lululemon, we received a response from Edelman, often described as the world’s biggest PR firm. This is not the first time Lululemon and Edelman have joined forces, but Edelman has battled criticism for its work with fossil fuel entities like ExxonMobil and the Koch network.

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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We first covered allegations against Lululemon as part of a roundup of greenwashing complaints @fatimabsyed.bsky.social and I wrote a couple weeks ago. Along with the clothing company, other complaints have targeted Shell Canada, RBC, Enbridge, Pathways Alliance & more: thenarwhal.ca/competition-...

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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Already, amid the hottest year on record, Canada was subjected to its worst-ever wildfire season last year, and toxic smoke choked major cities. What will come next?

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The larger context is that almost 200 countries have now agreed the world should be transitioning away from using fossil fuels for energy. They did so as scientists warn the planet is on the verge of crossing the 1.5 C heating threshold, which will intensify the effects of the climate crisis.

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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It also comes as Canada faces a phenomenon of underreported methane emissions, such as in Saskatchewan, where a scientific study I reported in September showed how most heavy oil sites there weren't measuring their methane: thenarwhal.ca/saskatchewan...

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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Collectively, these documents show multiple arms of Canada’s oil and gas industry, which represents the largest share of Canada’s emissions, are pushing back against government efforts to limit their sector’s carbon pollution.

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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And it follows efforts by the industry to persuade the Alberta government to weaken its methane restrictions that I reported on in June 2022: thenarwhal.ca/alberta-clim...

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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As well, TC Energy’s lobbying coincides with lobbying by the Pathways Alliance, a group of six major oilsands producers, to weaken and delay the emissions cap, actions revealed in documents I reported on last July: thenarwhal.ca/pathways-all...

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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The lobbying comes as a new liquefied gas industry is being built that will increase Canada’s domestic carbon footprint, according to government documents I reported on in December, despite the fact that the country is already struggling to meet its climate goals: thenarwhal.ca/lng-climate-...

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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Like many of my stories, this one was built from internal government documents I obtained through access to information law. But this story also ties together a number of different threads I’ve been writing about over the past two years at The Narwhal.

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Pipeline giant TC Energy lobbied the federal government to ignore a growing form of fossil fuel activity, in a key climate policy, by asking for LNG plants and methane to be left out of the emissions cap. Thread: thenarwhal.ca/tc-energy-em...

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Reposted by Carl Meyer

Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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The IEA said in a recent report that in a 1.5C world, demand for LNG can be met by plants already in operation and almost three-quarters of export projects currently under construction would struggle to recover their invested capital

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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Meanwhile this whole debate is happening as Earth has been breaking temperature records as a result of fossil fuel-driven climate change and scientists are warning that all oil, gas and coal production and use must be scaled back, LNG or otherwise

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A leading scientist I connected with who has been studying the LNG industry is skeptical about whether the numbers sought by the government actually exist. And an environmental advocacy group says such a proposal is simply "not credible" and ignores comparing gas with renewables

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Departmental officials were prompted to ask industry executives what work has occurred to understand whether tracking natural gas across the value chain is even possible, and what methods might hold the most promise. Gas is typically not tracked this way

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The briefing notes show the government believes the "social license" for a Canadian LNG industry would be "enhanced" by "demonstrating net global greenhouse gas reductions." Canada has asked major oil + gas firms to help them gather data to bolster public support for the industry

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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Canada is digging for proof its LNG exports can actually reduce global carbon pollution. Internal documents show the government didn't have the data to back up the industry's claim and that the LNG industry will increase domestic emissions: thenarwhal.ca/lng-climate-...

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For its part, Enbridge said the company and the museum "shared a belief that partnerships between industry and the scientific community enable action that will result in positive change on key issues related to climate change and sustainability.”

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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The museum now says it’s “revising” its fundraising policy. It added a “principle” to ensure sponsors’ actions and values align with those of the museum. But the museum is not closing the door on oil and gas sponsorships and Enbridge remains open to working with them in future.

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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Docs also show how the company sent the museum’s charitable foundation a gift in honour of the “years of service” from one of its execs sitting as a museum trustee. A gift agreement stated Enbridge “does not wish to have any formal public announcement or sharing of this gift.”

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After the first awards year, the museum suggested an Enbridge exec sit on its awards jury. A museum official wrote the company offering to help “tell your story of commitment to environmental sustainability in Canada," saying there was “no better organization” to align values

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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Enbridge also sponsored three years of the museum’s awards program. After not renewing for a fourth, the museum pitched “avenues to continue our partnership” and Enbridge ended up sponsoring Courage and Passion, another exhibit that looked at innovative women in science.

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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The docs show the museum pressed Enbridge to sponsor Planet Ice, which addressed fossil fuels and climate. Enbridge used the opportunity to try to promote its “alternative energy” inside the exhibit. But the museum and Enbridge have both denied the company had any influence.

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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But Canadian Heritage has faced controversy for Enbridge sponsorships before — at Winterlude. Last year the Rideau Canal skateway didn’t open for the first time, provoking sponsorship criticism. And other national museums have come under fire for their oil and gas relationships.

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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Beckel also argued that, as a national institution, the Canadian Museum of Nature had “an obligation to engage all stakeholders, even if their business is actually damaging to the planet,” because those businesses “are all part of our collective future” on a shared Earth.

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Meg Beckel, the former pres, portrays the Enbridge link as standard fundraising. "There’s a basic philosophy in sales, where it’s much easier to renew someone rather than to acquire a new customer" she says. The museum also says regular engagement with sponsors is a best practice

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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The museum, a Crown corp that reports to Parliament through Minister St-Onge, is facing budget holes, and corporate sponsorships help fill them. The former president also said the government has encouraged fundraising. But the minister’s office told me the museum is autonomous.

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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I spent five months going through 293 pages of internal museum emails, letters, reports and more, detailing this relationship. I also talked with the museum's former president and I went in person to talk to museum visitors about their thoughts on all this. It's a complex story.

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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The Museum of Nature built a decade-long relationship with Enbridge to fund exhibits, awards and more. Company execs sat as a trustee and on the awards jury. Now the museum is revisiting its funding policy. My investigation into oil + gas funding culture: thenarwhal.ca/canadian-mus...

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Carl Meyer's avatar Carl Meyer @meyer.bsky.social
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If all the oil Suncor extracted is combusted it would total 126 million tonnes of emissions. After nearly 200k people under an evacuation order and toxic smoke blanketing cities this summer, its CEO avoided saying who's most responsible for climate change: thenarwhal.ca/suncor-pathw...

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Reposted by Carl Meyer

Reposted by Carl Meyer