Alberta wants to challenge federal emissions cap in court

The Alberta government says it plans to legally challenge the federal government's cap on oil and gas emissions, arguing the cap would violate provincial jurisdiction.

Environment Minister Sonya Savage told CBC News that forthcoming policy would indirectly lead to a production cut, which would interfere with provincial control over the development of natural resources. 

"We would most definitely be constitutionally challenging an emissions cap that's not achievable, and I think the federal government knows that," she said. 

"The only way you can achieve the emissions reduction is to reduce production. Then that's a fundamental violation of provincial jurisdiction." 

The prime minister announced the plan for an emissions cap a year ago, but the specifics aren't expected until the end of 2023. 

Ottawa released a discussion paper this summer posing two options: a cap-and-trade system, which would divide emissions into allowances that are then allocated to specific companies through an auction, or an industry-specific carbon price that could be controlled independent of the regular national program. 

The oil and gas sector has been tasked with reducing its emissions to 42 per cent below 2019 levels as part of the federal government's 2030 climate targets. Canada has committed to reaching net-zero emissions by the year 2050 — a benchmark that almost all major oilsands producers also share, though the Pathways Alliance that represents them has said the targets for the end of the decade aren't realistic. 

Savage said it would be a constitutional legal challenge, like those seen from Alberta on the federal consumer carbon tax and Bill C-69, the environmental impact assessment legislation.

But it could also be matched with some kind of measure under the impending Sovereignty Act, which Premier Danielle Smith says would enable Alberta to ignore federal legislation or court rulings it deems against provincial interests. 

"You can do that with or without the Sovereignty Act, but I think there would be some extra pieces in the Sovereignty Act that could be added upon that," Savage said. 

The wording of the Sovereignty Act has not been released yet. 

Canada recently refused to support a call for the phaseout of oil and gas production at the COP27 climate change summit. Domestically, federal ministers have also said Ottawa isn't aiming to reduce or shut down production. 

In 2019, Canada's oil and gas sector accounted for 191 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions — 26 per cent of the country's total emissions. The industry has received criticism for not reinvesting more of its record profits into clean energy projects. 

Oil and gas accounts for an average of five per cent of Canada's total GDP, and 21 per cent of Alberta's, according to Statistics Canada.