A new study suggests that the federal government’s proposed regulations to reduce methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas emitted by the oil and gas industry, would be more effective than competing regulations proposed by the Alberta government.
A new study suggests that the federal government’s proposed regulations to reduce methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas emitted by the oil and gas industry, would be more effective than competing regulations proposed by the Alberta government.
But there’s room for improvement for both, and a question mark over whether either set of regulations would meet Canada’s methane reduction targets.
The goal is to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry by 40-45 per cent from 2012 levels by 2025. The goal stems from a leaders summit in 2016, when Mexico, the U.S. and Canada agreed to these methane reductions. The goal has now been incorporated into Canada’s official climate plan, the Pan-Canadian Framework.
“Absolutely that kind of methane reduction is achievable,” said Matthew Johnson, an engineering professor at Carleton University who is a leading expert on emissions in Canada’s energy sector.
“We would say that the federal government [proposal] will just meet that target. Are there things in here you could do to improve both regulations? Hundred per cent. Neither regulation is perfect.”
Alberta and the federal government