Helium & Hot Air: Saskatchewan’s Greenwashing Sustainability Claims - CleanTechnica

The article critiques Saskatchewan’s government for promoting misleading sustainability claims, particularly highlighting an ad campaign that touts the province as a leader in environmental stewardship. A key example is the province’s helium production being equated to planting billions of trees. While Saskatchewan’s helium extraction produces relatively low greenhouse gas emissions compared to global standards—due to a unique geological occurrence where helium is found alongside nitrogen rather than methane—this advantage is a matter of geological luck rather than deliberate environmental policy. The province is essentially marketing this natural quirk as a conscious sustainability achievement, despite continuing significant emissions from oil and gas extraction, which accounts for about 30% of its greenhouse gases. The article further contextualizes Saskatchewan’s overall environmental impact, noting that it remains one of Canada’s highest per-capita emitters of greenhouse gases, with roughly 74 million tons of CO2 equivalent emitted in 2023—about six times the per-capita emissions of Ontario or Quebec. Besides oil and gas, major emission sources include coal and natural