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Canada out to woo US on emissions issues
Ottawa about to legislate greenhouse gas emissions limits on road to net zero; concern potential withdrawal of Keystone XL approval
Gary Park for Petroleum News
The Canadian government is about to legislate greenhouse gas limits through rolling five-year targets, ending with net-zero emissions by 2050.
For many observers, the move is long overdue after a failure by the administration of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take action during its five years in office.
For some, it is seen as a move by the government to open the doors to negotiations if Joe Biden moves into the White House.
Even the newly elected Green Party leader Annamie Paul believes Canada would have a chance under a Biden presidency to negotiate a North American pact to impose tariffs on countries that export crude oil to the United States and Canada and operate under weak emissions standards.
Such a trading bloc would contain “a simple message to (countries that sell their crude into North American markets) … if you want to trade with us you either produce your goods cleanly … or you pay the price, because we are not going to penalize our own businesses by accepting your dirty goods,” she said.
That option is presented in anticipation of a Biden administration that could withdraw permits for the Keystone XL pipeline because of the Republican leader’s negative view of “tar sands” production from Alberta that is shipped to U.S. refineries.
James Rajotte, the Alberta envoy in Washington, D.C., said Canada currently exports oil and natural gas worth over US$120 billion to the U.S. every year.
“We actually think we can address Biden’s goal of moving towards a clean economy” and save Keystone XL, which he noted covers an agreement with four U.S. labor unions that will gain 11,000 jobs during the pipeline construction and offer substantial spin-off benefits to U.S. Native communities.
TC Energy, Keystone XL’s owner, is “also working towards greening the pipeline as much as possible and addressing concerns about emissions from the oil sands,” he said.
Reducing fossil fuel emissions Rajotte said Canada has to make a strong argument to the next U.S. administration about its progress in reducing fossil fuel emissions, its federal-provincial deal to lower methane emissions by 45% over the next five years and the fees already imposed on carbon producers that will remove the equivalent of 300,000 vehicles from the road.
On Canada’s planned “legally binding” emission limits, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told the parliamentary environment committee that achieving the goal “will certainly be challenging and will require leadership from every region.”
But a key hurdle facing the Trudeau government will be to introduce reporting mechanisms, especially in the two leading oil-producing provinces - Alberta and Saskatchewan which are still pursuing court challenges of a federal price on carbon, which is scheduled to reach C$50 per metric ton in 2022.
Most provinces annually emit between 10 and 20 metric tons per capita, while Alberta and Saskatchewan tally close to 70 metric tons.
Canada has set emission reduction targets in the last two decades, without ever reaching its goals.
It is also forecast to miss its current target by 77 million metric tons, based on the latest federal data from 2018.
The latest promises by the Trudeau government include lowering GHG emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.
In December the government is also expected to roll out new standards for cleaner-burning fuels, which could account for 15% of Canada’s GHG reduction target and expects to unveil a national hydrogen strategy as a key component of its net-zero strategy by identifying potential industrial uses for hydrogen.
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