Joint News Release: Organizations Call for Federal Environmental Impact Assessment of Proposed Pathways CO₂ Project

May 14, 2026

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An aerial view of an oil sands mining operation in northern Alberta. Photo © P. Meintzer

May 13, 2026. Twenty environmental and community organizations sent a joint letter to the Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature, Julie Dabrusin, and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada urging the federal government to require a comprehensive federal environmental impact assessment of the proposed Pathways Alliance CO₂ transportation and storage network.

According to the Government of Canada, the proposed Pathways Project would be the largest carbon capture, utilization, and storage project in the world. The project would involve a more than 400-kilometre CO₂ pipeline network connecting oil sands facilities to an underground carbon storage hub in northeastern Alberta.

The letter expresses support for the community group No CO₂ Pipelines Alberta, whose members have raised concerns about the risks the project poses to public safety and health, groundwater, ecosystems, Indigenous rights, and local communities in and around St. Paul and the Cold Lake region of Alberta.

The letter raises concerns regarding:

  • risks associated with CO₂ pipeline leaks and underground storage;
  • potential impacts to groundwater, ecosystems, and wildlife;
  • inadequate consultation with affected communities;
  • the lack of free, prior, and informed consent from affected Indigenous Nations;
  • long-term environmental liabilities and cleanup responsibilities;
  • the use of substantial public subsidies for a project led by highly profitable oil sands companies; and
  • the broader cumulative impacts associated with continued oil sands expansion.

The letter also points to concerns regarding the regulatory process after the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) declined to require a provincial environmental impact assessment for the project

We are calling on the federal government to exercise its authority under the Impact Assessment Act to designate the Pathways Project for a federal environmental impact assessment.

“Projects of this scale and significance must undergo a rigorous and transparent federal environmental impact assessment. Communities have the right to fully understand the long-term implications for their lands, water, health, and rights before this project proceeds,” said Pamela Narváez-Torres, Conservation Specialist at Alberta Wilderness Association. “Carbon capture projects cannot be used to justify continued fossil fuel expansion without fully examining their environmental, social, economic, and climate consequences.”

The full letter can be found here.

For more information, please contact:

Signing organizations:

Alberta Wilderness Association

Calgary Climate Hub

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

Climate Action Network – Réseau Action Climat

Climate Justice Edmonton

Coalition for Responsible Energy Development in New Brunswick

Council of Canadians – Edmonton Chapter

Environmental Defence

For Our Kids (National)

For Our Kids Alberta

Greenpeace Canada

Indigenous Climate Action

Keepers of the Water

Seniors for Climate Action Now (SCAN!) Edmonton

Shift: Action for Pension Wealth & Planet Health (a project of Makeway)

Society of High Prairie Regional Environmental Action Committee

Southern Alberta Group for the Environment

Stand.earth

The Gravity Well

The Woven Project

 

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