Lower Emissions from Power Plants Offset by Oil Sands

But hey, jobs, right? Right?

First, the good news: Provincial and federal government efforts to wean the population off coal power will lead to a reduction of 31 megatonnes of carbon emissions released each year by 2020, according to a report from Environment Canada. On the other, larger, and more destructive hand, all those gains will be more than offset by development in the oil sands, which will triple their carbon emissions from 2005 to some 62 megatonnes a year come 2020. The so-called “ethical” oil sands will make up the bulk of the country's total increase in emissions over the next nine years, as Environment Canada expects we'll be releasing an average of 54 megatonnes a year by then, with transportation, infrastructure, and agriculture all adding to the output.