(Ottawa) Ottawa caps greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas industry without limiting production. This cap should not be seen as a measure targeting Alberta, warns Minister Guilbeault, who anticipates criticism from Premier Danielle Smith.
“We have targets [pour de réduction des émissions] in transport, we have targets in electricity, then we have targets for oil and gas,” he said in an interview with The Presson the sidelines of COP28.
“I cannot, in good conscience, let a sector pollute without limits, while we are asking everyone to make an effort, there is an issue of equity in that,” he added , recalling that the oil and gas sector is the one that emits the most greenhouse gases in the country, with 28% of the total.
“If the oil and gas sector does not make a significant effort, we will not succeed, it is not possible. »
The regulatory framework presented by officials from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change will cap emissions in 2030 at 35 to 38% below 2019 levels. It includes relaxations for companies to comply that would allow them to emit emission levels 20% to 23% below 2019 levels. The goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Ottawa will implement a cap-and-trade system. They will therefore be able to purchase carbon offset credits if they exceed this ceiling or contribute to a decarbonization fund. Consultations will continue until February 5, 2024 and the government intends to publish its draft regulation made under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act towards mid-year 2024.
The measure is intended to complement the target for reducing leaks and methane releases from the oil and gas industry announced on December 4 by Ottawa, Minister Guilbeault said. Because the specific methane target, the clean fuel standard and carbon pricing alone will not sufficiently reduce GHG emissions from the oil and gas sector, he explained.
“The cap adds another layer to ensure that emissions from the sector decrease, regardless of what happens with production,” said the minister.
This is the first time that companies in the Canadian oil and gas sector have been imposed a specific target for reducing their GHG emissions.
“When their emissions decreased, it was because there was an economic crisis, there was the pandemic,” underlined Minister Guilbeault. He welcomed the fact that Canada is the only country in the world to impose an emissions cap on its oil and gas sector.
“There is not an oil-producing country that I speak to here that does that; the United States, Norway, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, no one,” he told The Press.
The announced cap is a “reasonable and necessary” measure, but Ottawa should not wait until 2026 to implement it, said Rick Smith, president of the Climate Institute of Canada, which is participating in COP28.
“The persistent increase in emissions [du secteur du pétrole et de gaz] reverses progress made in other sectors of the economy in combating climate change,” he added.
Capping GHG emissions from the oil and gas sector is even “compatible with the increase in oil production”, calculates the Climate Institute of Canada, which also sees it as a way to stimulate innovation and thus make the sector more sustainable. Canada’s energy more competitive in global markets.