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Young Friends of the Earth groups and Push Europe activists from across Europe told governments and the oil industry to ‘Stop pushing tar sands on Europe’ today, as part of an international day of action against tar sands – the dirtiest form of unconventional oil.

Actions were organised ahead of the European Commission’s delayed decision on whether to adopt measures to assign higher carbon emission values to tar sands in its Fuel Quality Directive. The Fuel Quality Directive has been the subject of an intense lobbying effort by the Canadian government and the European oil industry – which brought about a stalemate at the original vote in February.

The European Commission must defy pressure from both the Canadian and big oil lobbies, and assign higher carbon emission values to the more climate hostile oils than to other sources of fossil fuels. Tar sands oil is the most devastating fuel in commercial production today, producing three to five times more climate changing emissions than conventional fossil fuels. The pollution and deforestation from tar sands does irreversible ecological damage, kills wildlife and threatens indigenous communities. Allowing tar sands into Europe will undermine Europe's ability to reach its climate ambitions.