Canada will likely publish the final regulations of a plan to cap and cut greenhouse gases from the oil and gas sector by mid-2024, its environment minister told Reuters on Thursday.
The government will table draft regulations on the plan by October and expects to publish the final regulations by mid-2024 after consultations with provinces, indigenous groups, civil society and industry, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told Reuters.
Canada, the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, lags many global peers in tackling emissions. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government sees the cap as a key element to enforce a sharp reduction in pollution from the oil and gas sector, responsible for 27 per cent of the country’s emissions.
The cap, which envisions limits on emissions or potentially raising the carbon price to incentivize driving down emissions, was first promised in Trudeau’s 2021 election campaign. It has faced delays amid opposition from industry and some provincial lawmakers.
The government’s framework for eliminating inefficient fossil fuel subsidies released on Monday was expected to abolish $1 billion in annual federal support for local oil, gas and coal production, Guilbeault said.
“As per our Glasgow commitment, we eliminated last year international fossil fuel subsidies. Now we’re doing domestic,” Guilbeault said in a phone interview, referring to the Glasgow Climate Pact agreed at the COP26 summit in 2021.
Canada’s announcement to eliminate such subsidies made it the first G20 country to deliver on a 2009 commitment to rationalize and phase out government support for the sector.
