Chief in Alberta teams up with environmental groups to try and stop carbon capture project

The Chief of Cold Lake First Nations in northern Alberta is teaming up with a number of environmental groups to try and stop a tarsands project called the t. That project would capture carbon dioxide from multiple tarsands sites and store the gas underground hundreds of kilometres away. The tarsands produced the highest levels of Carbon dioxide, or CO2, in Canada. Carbon dioxide is one of the leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing the climate crisis. “They talk about reconciliation but all this stuff happens,” said Chief Kelsey Jacko. “Bills passes without our consent or even our knowledge about it. “Even if we get input, we are just totally ignored.” One of the organizations Jacko is teaming up with is the Keepers of the Water, a non-profit environmental group. The Pathways Alliance CCUS Project is a collaboration of five of the largest oil companies. The $16 billion project aims to build a 400 kilometre pipeline from Fort McMurray to areas around Cold Lake. The pipeline would contain trapped carbon dioxide,  transfer and store it underground. The federal budget announced Nov. 4, allows for a 60 per cent tax cred for carbon capture investments. “Yes, there is a problem,” says Jesse Cardinal, executive director of Keepers of the Water. “Is the solution to use massive amounts of water, and pipe it down and store it underground in the Cold Lake, Elk Point, and Saint Paul area? NO. Because there are a lot of people in that region that have water wells.” “They have ground water wells. So you cannot be mixing toxic liquid waste into underground reservoirs.” Mark Dorin, with the Coalition for Responsible Energy, has worked in the fossil fuel industry for decades. He says a leak in the pipeline is only a matter of time. “It’s troubling to say the least, that all federal and provincial political parties support CCUS [the alliance project]. I question who their technical advisors are,” he says. “I question the soundness of their decisions. And I know that the oil industry spends some $50 million heavily lobbying governments of all levels for subsidy of their industry with essentially no counter-lobbyists at all.” APTN News requested an interview with the Pathways Alliance. A statement was received instead. According to president Kendall Dilling, carbon capture and storage is a “proven technology and used around the world, including here in Canada.” “According to the Global CCS Institute’s 2025 report, there are 77 carbon capture and storage projects in operation, 47 under construction, 313 in early development, and 297 in advanced development.” Read More: Oil and gas companies plan to spend billions to boost future fossil fuel supply Carney’s critical minerals push meets Indigenous realities as Canada races to rival China’s supply dominance The office of Tim Hodson, federal minister of Energy and Natural Resources, tells APTN in a statement that the new federal government’s approach to building major projects is grounded in partnership with Indigenous rightsholders. “We will always work with impacted Indigenous Peoples to ensure their concerns are heard and addressed in a meaningful way.” And the Alberta office of the Minister of the Environment and Protected areas, Rebecca Schulz,  also told APTN in a statement that groups like “Keepers of the Water” are trying to shut down Canada’s energy sector “Claims that the Pathways project—or any other CCUS initiative—will lead to water shortages or create dangerous environmental risks are scientifically wrong. No water will be in this pipeline which will move CO2 as a compressed gas.” Tags: Alberta, carbon capture, Chief Kelsey Jacko, Co2, Cold Lake First Nat, Keepers of the Water, oil companies, Pathways Alliance CCUS Projec, Rebecca Schulz, Tarsands, Tim Hodson Continue Reading