Ottawa to require oil, gas companies to cut carbon emissions by one-third

Oil and gas producers in Canada will be required to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about one-third over the next eight years under new regulations.

Oil and gas producers in Canada will be required to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about one-third over the next eight years under new regulations being published today by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.

The regulations, still only in draft format and about two years behind schedule, could further strain relations between Ottawa and the Alberta government which recently launched a $7-million advertising campaign to “scrap the cap.”

For the Liberals, the regulations fulfil a 2021 election promise to force the energy sector to pull its weight in the fight against climate change.

“I think everyone should do their fair share,” Guilbeault said in an interview with The Canadian Press ahead of a news conference in Ottawa on Monday with Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson to outline more details of the plan.

Guilbeault said the oil and gas industry is a major source of emissions, but that it has done less than most other sectors to reduce them in the battle against climate change.

“I think most Canadians — even those that aren’t my biggest fans — would agree that it’s not OK for a sector to not be doing its share, and that’s mostly what this regulation is about.”

Upstream oil and gas operations, including production and refining, contributed about 31 per cent of Canada’s total emissions in 2022.

The regulations propose to force emissions from upstream oil and gas operations to fall to 35 per cent less than they were in 2019 sometime between 2030 and 2032.