Europe's Best and Worst Carbon Polluters Named and Shamed

Posted by Stop Ajax Mine on November 4th, 2011 10:11am

Posted April 28, 2011 on GreenBiz.com, KGHM Polska Miedz SA was ranked 300/300 (ie. the worst) in all of Europe for Carbon Pollution. Here's the link to the full report: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/04/28/europes-best-and-worst-carbon-polluters-named-and-shamed.

We would like to also point out the following additional points related to this information:

KGHM Ajax declined an invitation to make a presentation at the November 7th public forum sponsored by KAPA in co-operation with TRU and the Kamloops Daily News, stating that "We are committed to responsible environmental management and respect the process prescribed by the CEAA and the BCEAO."

However, KGHM has been cited by the London based Environmental Investment Organization (EIO) (in the link noted above  http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/04/28/europes-best-and-worst-carbon-polluters-named-and-shamed), as having the worst record of greenhouse gas emissions relative to their revenue, of 300 European companies that were surveyed.  Even more troubling, is the finding by the EIO that KGHM failed to publicly disclose its emissions. If they are not fully disclosing their emissions and have been caught doing so in Europe, how can we trust that they won't follow the same corporate practice here?

A significant difference, in our case, is that they'll be less than 2 kilometres from thousands of people living in Kamloops. Can we trust them to control the dust, exhaust, leachate and explosives emissions that will be generated from the mine? Their European performance does not build any confidence in us about their ability or concern for their own emissions, toxic dust, or other pollutants that are being generated less than 2 kilometres from 3 elementary schools where hundreds of children will be playing every day. 

Even more concerning, the BC Provincial government has a horrible history for monitoring and enforcing their own environmental policies, noted by our own BC Auditor General in July of 2011, here's a copy of the actual report. So with a history of our province lacking in environmental monitoring and enforcement, and our own BC Environmental Minister and Kamloops resident Terry Lake, citing that there should be no concern regarding the BC environmental assessment process, how are we expected to feel safe having a mine run by a company with such a poor environmental record less than 2 kilometres from our town? The economic impact and jobs they'll create don't even come close to compare to the potential negative effects on the health of thousands of residents of Kamloops! 

One final point which only adds to our concern and cements our lack of confidence in KGHM Ajax is that the BC Environmental Assessment Office won't even release the test blast results KGHM has submitted to the EAO AJAX Working Group, by threat of legal action of KGHM - also referenced in the article about Terry Lake's defence of the provincial assessment process. 

Should this mine be approved we'll have a mining company with a horrible record for environmental practices and pollution opening a mine less than 2 kilometres from thousands of residents of Kamloops, being monitored by a government with an equally horrible track record of it's own environmental monitoring and enforcement practices.  

Please share this article with anyone you know who lives, or has family, in Kamloops.

Comments

Jean Humphreys on 2011-11-04 13:39:28

I've posted an album on my Facebook profile which contains pictures of the proposed minesite and adjacent areas. The area is part of my square I'm covering for the BC Breeding Bird atlas; and it's truly amazing to see the different bird and animal species who make this place their home. This in conjunction with our ranchers whose beef cattle also circuit through the bunchgrass meadows. All of this is way too precious to be destroyed for a profit making mine associated with a company with such a horrible environmental track record.

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