Al Gore has attacked Statoil and the Oil fund for investing billions of kroner in oil sand extraction outside Canada.

A menace

Called the world’s dirtiest oil, Gore lambasts them for making a huge mistake, as it’s believed the technique releases much higher amounts of CO₂than conventional oil and gas. The former Vice-President and Nobel Peace Prize winner has previously said he sees the process as being a threat to humanity.

However both Jens Stoltenberg and Statoil’s president Helge Lund claim the environmental impact can be reduced, as carbon capture and storage would make the process more climate-friendly, writes Dagbladet.

Controversial

Gore is not convinced, however.

“I would have been more positive if solving the (environmental) problems by using carbon capture and storage was possible, but I don’t believe it will make any difference when it comes to oil sand anyway. Did you know that using petrol derived from oil sand gives a Toyota Prius the same carbon footprint as a Hummer?,” he asks.

However, Statoil’s head of information – Ola Morten Aanestad – believes Gore is only speaking in general terms as he doesn’t know the details of the company’s project. He does admit, however, that the process is controversial.

“We are of course aware of that oil sand extraction emits a considerably higher amount of CO₂than other forms of oil extraction,” says Aanestad.