大象传媒

There is just one issue on the table as the world's richest nations meet in Cannes today - containing the eurozone crisis. Indeed it is hard to escape the conclusion that we are witnessing a seismic shift in the world economy - away from Europe and the West, towards Asia and the developing world.

In the oil industry, however, the rebalancing runs the other way - with the focus moving from the Middle East towards the new oil powers in particular Brazil and its neighbour in the north, Canada.

Canada's vast tar sands have 170 billion proven barrels of oil and may well have far, far more. Indeed, the Canadian government expects actual reserves to total over 300 billion barrels - which would make them the biggest reserves of oil in the world.

The problem is that extracting oil from tar sands is a carbon intensive process and Europe - keen to reduce its emissions - is planning regulations which would ban the import of CO2-intensive fuels from unconventional sources like tar sands.

The new regulations have been championed by the environmental pressure group Greenpeace - and vigorously opposed by the Canadian government. Justin Rowlatt interviews Franziska Achterberg, Greenpeace's EU transport policy adviser.

So how does Canada - normally reckoned to be a model world citizen - justify trying to block regulations designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions? We hear from Joe Oliver, Canada's minister of Natural Resources, visiting Europe to lobby against the proposed new European rules.

Plus why foreign investors are putting their money into Egypt despite revolution, government debt slow growth and a recently downgraded credit rating. And the 大象传媒's Economics Editor, Stephanie Flanders, on why the world is at war over its currencies.

Photo credit: AP