Susan Rice, Top Secretary Of State Candidate, Owns $300,000–600,000 Of
Transcanada Stock ($1.25 Million in Canadian Oil Companies)
http://cleantechnica.com/2012/11/30/susan-rice-top-secretary-of-state-candidate-owns-300000-600000-of-transcanada-stock-1-25-million-in-canadian-oil-companies/
Most of the attacks against Susan Rice, Obama’s supposed top pick for
Secretary of State, have come from Republicans. But now the left — mainly
groups opposed to developing Canadian tar sands — may have some reasons to
question Rice.
According to a report from OnEarth Magazine, Rice has millions of dollars
tied up in top Canadian energy companies — including TransCanada, the
company pushing for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
The 1,700 mile Keystone XL pipeline would pipe carbon-intensive tar sands
crude from Alberta to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. Because the
pipeline crosses international borders, its approval falls under the
jurisdiction of the State Department. That means Rice — or any other
candidate tapped to head the State Department — would be responsible for
approving or rejecting the project.
Here’s what the OnEarth investigation of Rice’s finances found:
Rice’s financial holdings could raise questions about her status as a
neutral decision maker. The current U.S. ambassador to the United Nations,
Rice owns stock valued between $300,000 and $600,000 in TransCanada, the
company seeking a federal permit to transport tar sands crude 1,700 miles
to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast, crossing fragile Midwest ecosystems
and the largest freshwater aquifer in North America.
Beyond that, according to financial disclosure reports, about a third of
Rice’s personal net worth is tied up in oil producers, pipeline operators,
and related energy industries north of the 49th parallel — including
companies with poor environmental and safety records on both U.S. and
Canadian soil. Rice and her husband own at least $1.25 million worth of
stock in four of Canada’s eight leading oil producers, as ranked by Forbes
magazine. That includes Enbridge, which spilled more than a million gallons
of toxic bitumen into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River in 2010 – the largest
inland oil spill in U.S. history.
Rice also has smaller stakes in several other big Canadian energy firms, as
well as the country’s transportation companies and coal-fired utilities.
Another 20 percent or so of her personal wealth is derived from investments
in five Canadian banks. These are some of the institutions that provide
loans and financial backing to TransCanada and its competitors for tar
sands extraction and major infrastructure projects, such as Keystone XL and
Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, which would stretch 700
miles from Alberta to the Canadian coast.
And also this:
According to her most recent financial disclosure reports, along with her
TransCanada investments, Rice and her husband own at least $1.5 million
worth of stock in Enbridge (Canada’s No. 3 oil producer, according to
Forbes), Cenovus (No. 7), and Encana (No. 8), as well as at least $1.25
million in Imperial (No. 2), $50,000 to $100,000 in Suncor (No. 1), and
$15,000 to $50,000 in Canadian Natural (No. 6). (TransCanada is ranked at
No. 5 by Forbes.) The couple has at least $1.25 million invested in
Transalta, Alberta’s largest coal-fired electricity power producer, and at
least $1.5 million in Canadian Pacific Railway, which transports coal, oil,
and gas and has been a major financial beneficiary of the North American
energy boom.
Calling development of the tar sands “game over” for the climate,
environmental groups are making the Keystone XL pipeline their number one
fight after the election. Although Rice has had no connection to the
decision making process around Keystone XL, her finances raise more
concerns from environmental groups working to shut down the pipeline.
Over the past 18 months, a number of questionable relationships between
State Department officials and TransCanada have been uncovered.
In July of last year, WikiLeaks released a diplomatic cable from the State
Department’s energy envoy written in 2009. In that cable, the official said
he had “alleviated” the Canadian government’s concerns about getting tar
sands crude into the U.S., and instructed them on how to improve their “oil
sands messaging” by “increasing visibility and accessibility of more
positive news stories.”
Last October, it was revealed that the State Department contractor
performing the environmental assessment of Keystone XL was deeply connected
to the pipeline’s developer, TransCanada. Also in October of 2011, emails
obtained from the State Department showed that officials in the agency were
coaching TransCanada about how to navigate the regulatory process, raising
questions about the coziness of the relationship between the two parties.
And in December of 2011, four members of Congress were called out by the
Sunlight Foundation for owning shares in TransCanada while also pushing
legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.
“The State Department has been rife with collusion with the Canadian
pipeline builders, and it’s really distressing to have any sense that that
might continue to go on,” said Bill McKibben, one of the activists leading
the fight against Keystone XL, toOnEarth.
If Rice eventually becomes Secretary of State, she could recuse herself
from any decision on Keystone XL. The White House has not yet commented on
Rice’s financial stake in these Canadian energy companies.
Received on Fri Nov 30 2012 - 11:01:05 EST
