Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Carbon capture and climate intervention · Canada · 2025

Alberta and Ottawa tie new oil pipeline to Pathways carbon capture plan

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 2 insufficient · 2 not measured See the gaps

A November 2025 agreement between Alberta and the federal government links a new 1 million barrel-per-day West Coast oil pipeline to Pathways, a planned carbon capture scheme for oil sands. Whether it cuts emissions depends on how much carbon is captured and stored, which the sources reviewed do not measure.

What?
Alberta and the federal government agreed in November 2025 to link a new West Coast oil pipeline to the Pathways carbon capture plan for oil sands producers. Canadian Press (CP24)
Where?
Alberta, Canada; the new oil pipeline runs to the West Coast Canadian Press (CP24)
When?
Agreement signed in November 2025; Pathways targets 16 million tonnes a year by 2035 Canadian Press (CP24)
Who?
Gained
  • Oil Sands Alliance members (Canadian Natural, Cenovus, Imperial, Suncor, ConocoPhillips) — Federal tax credit, a 12 percent Alberta grant and carbon contracts for difference for Pathways Canadian Press (CP24)
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Press summarised the deal as 'No Pathways, no pipeline', meaning the pipeline depends on the carbon capture plan going ahead. Canadian Press (CP24)
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

According to the Canadian Press, Alberta and the federal government agreed in November 2025 to connect a new 1 million barrel-per-day West Coast oil pipeline to Pathways.

The Canadian Press summarised the deal as 'No Pathways, no pipeline', and reported a target of 16 million tonnes a year by 2035, with a first phase estimated at CAD 16.5 billion in a 2022 estimate.

The same report said oil sands producers receive a federal tax credit, a 12 percent Alberta grant and carbon contracts for difference.

Environmental Defence counted 356 meetings by the Pathways Alliance with the federal government in 2024, out of at least 1,135 meetings by 35 fossil fuel companies and associations.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Imperial Oil, majority-owned by ExxonMobil, is reported to take part in Pathways; this comes from a researcher's memory and was not checked.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: a 2022 journalist count of 1,372 oil and gas meetings against 961 for environmental groups.
    • None on record The outcome of a 2023 Competition Bureau investigation into Pathways advertising is not known from the sources reviewed.
    • Not measured The effect of the plan on emissions is not measured in the sources reviewed; the 16 million tonne figure is a target.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    1. No Pathways, no pipeline
      Canadian Press (CP24) · 2026-05-25

    Communities and civil society

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Bonds and banking

    Guarantee
    A commitment by a third party, often a development bank, to pay if the borrower does not.

    Carbon and conservation finance

    Standard-setter and registry
    An organisation that writes the rules for carbon credits, approves projects, and records when credits are issued and retired. Such bodies typically charge fees per credit.
    Similar cases
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · Carbon credits · Canada · 2015–2020
    Quest CCS (Shell, Alberta)
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame countryHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · Canada · 2014
    Boundary Dam 3 carbon capture unit captured 7,095,042 tonnes by September 2025
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame countryHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · Carbon credits · United States · 2023–2026
    Occidental Stratos direct air capture plant (Texas)
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · Carbon credits · Mexico · 2022–2025
    Make Sunsets stratospheric balloon launches (Mexico)
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · United States · 2021
    Leaked DOE list marks first tranches for two direct air capture hubs 'terminate'
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · United States · 2011–2025
    45Q lobby coalition's founding director was named to head DOE carbon office
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame regionHarm to nature not measured