Recently the Pathways Alliance temporarily scrubbed its website and social media because the lobby group is unable to back up environmental claims. This powerful oil and gas lobby group is still standing directly in the way of a safe and clean future.
The Pathways Apocalypse is a parody of the
real-life Pathways Alliance, which is made up of Canada's six largest oil sands companies.
But the Pathways Alliance is no joke.
Despite record-breaking profits, the oil sands companies that make up the Pathways Alliance have invested little in cutting emissions
and are not shifting their business model to one that aligns with protecting a safe and livable future for Canadians. In 2023, instead of committing to invest in renewable energy, Pathways Alliance member Suncor committed to expanding oil extraction.
The oil and gas sector is the biggest and fastest growing source of climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.
The latest National Inventory Report shows while other sectors in Canada are cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the oil and gas sector’s are growing — now 31 per cent of Canada’s emissions. Between 1990 and 2022, the oil and gas sector’s emissions grew by 83 per cent.
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The Pathways Alliance is attempting to greenwash their operations through massive advertising campaigns. Last year, the Competition Bureau launched a formal inquiry into the lobby group’s ads. The inquiry resulted in changes to the Competition Act – legislation that regulates advertising — that clamp down on greenwashing. The next day, the Pathways Alliance scrubbed its website and social media channels – showing the Alliance lacks evidence to back up its hollow environmental claims. The site is back now, without greenwashing claims that carbon capture and storage is a climate solution.
You know who didn’t have to scrub their websites? Climate scientists and environmental organizations.
Pathways Alliance members – Canadian Natural, Cenovus Energy, CoconoPhillips Canada, MEG Energy, Imperial Oil and Suncor – produce some of the most carbon-intensive oil in the world.
The Pathways Alliance has consistently opposed and worked to delay federal climate action policies, including the oil and gas emissions cap, which would finally rein in out-of-control oil and gas pollution in Canada.
Instead of supporting emissions reductions from their operations, the Pathways Alliance is asking the federal government for more of our taxpayer money to pay for carbon capture and storage (CCS), an expensive and ineffective technology, which has a track record of failure. One UN report found over the last 30 years, 80 per cent of carbon capture pilot projects have ended in failure.
Contrary to its public messaging, behind the scenes the Pathways Alliance has raised concerns with federal officials about the reliability and feasibility of CCS.
The Pathways Alliance can't be trusted
It is desperately trying to delay and weaken important climate progress, like an oil and gas emissions cap that will reduce pollution and hold the oil and gas industry accountable.
Poll after poll has shown a majority of people in Canada - including in Alberta - want the federal government to put a cap on oil and gas emissions. The government of Canada has a responsibility to protect a climate-safe future for Canadians, not cater to the whims of six oil and gas CEOs.