The other shoe is set to drop on an oil and gas emissions cap — according to the Liberals’ energy and environment duo. And it’s increasingly likely to fall before the end of the year.Speaking on a panel discussion at a Canadian Climate Institute conference in Ottawa on Thursday, Jonathan Wilkinson and Steven Guilbeault — ministers of energy and environment — assured the assembled crowd of activists a draft emissions cap on oil and gas emissions will indeed be coming before the end of the year.“It’s a very live conversation, but by the end of the year, you will have a pretty good idea of how we will go about that,” Guilbeault said during a fireside chat alongside his cabinet colleague, Bloomberg reported..“By the end of the year, you will have a pretty good idea of how we will go about that,”Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault.“We want to make sure that we do this in a thoughtful way that pushes for as many reductions as we can see in the sector as possible, without shutting in production that’s not linked to global declines in demand,” Wilkinson added.Alberta officials have complained any emissions cap would result in a de facto production cut on the order of one million barrels per day (bpd) or nearly a quarter of Alberta’s oil output. Although Wilkinson seemingly took pains to avoid an outright production cut, the kicker appears to be “linked to global declines in demand.”Modelling from the Canadian Energy Regulator — based on assumptions from the International Energy Agency — suggests oil output would have to fall more than 70% for Canada to achieve the feds’ net-zero targets by 2050, including a more than 80% cut for oil sands.Both Wilkinson and Guilbeault added they are “taking care” to design the rules to survive a Supreme Court challenge, after it struck down Bill C-69, the so-called ‘no more pipelines act’ last month in a major win for Alberta..Still, any imposition of a cap would clearly cross one of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s hard ‘lines in the sand.' She has firmly and consistently warned both men not to do so while they are engaged in round table panel discussions over proposed electricity rules.At the UCP convention in Calgary last weekend, Smith was clear an emissions cap would not only land up in court, it would also be challenged under the so-called Sovereignty Act and that she “would not give an inch” on the issue.Although it touts itself as a “non-partisan, independently governed“ charity, the Toronto-based Canadian Climate Institute CCI) is closely aligned with the federal government‘s net-zero narrative.In response to the Auditor General’s report on Canada’s lack of progress on emissions, the CCI issued a statement saying the report is a “clear call to action” that confirms the need for the federal government to “accelerate” the implementation of policies such as an oil and gas cap.“It’s crunch time: the federal government must move quickly to finalize the full suite of policies in its plan and then build on them with stronger or additional measures, to deliver the climate action Canadians expect,” director Anna Kanduth said in a release.The Western Standard has reached out to Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz for comment.
The other shoe is set to drop on an oil and gas emissions cap — according to the Liberals’ energy and environment duo. And it’s increasingly likely to fall before the end of the year.Speaking on a panel discussion at a Canadian Climate Institute conference in Ottawa on Thursday, Jonathan Wilkinson and Steven Guilbeault — ministers of energy and environment — assured the assembled crowd of activists a draft emissions cap on oil and gas emissions will indeed be coming before the end of the year.“It’s a very live conversation, but by the end of the year, you will have a pretty good idea of how we will go about that,” Guilbeault said during a fireside chat alongside his cabinet colleague, Bloomberg reported..“By the end of the year, you will have a pretty good idea of how we will go about that,”Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault.“We want to make sure that we do this in a thoughtful way that pushes for as many reductions as we can see in the sector as possible, without shutting in production that’s not linked to global declines in demand,” Wilkinson added.Alberta officials have complained any emissions cap would result in a de facto production cut on the order of one million barrels per day (bpd) or nearly a quarter of Alberta’s oil output. Although Wilkinson seemingly took pains to avoid an outright production cut, the kicker appears to be “linked to global declines in demand.”Modelling from the Canadian Energy Regulator — based on assumptions from the International Energy Agency — suggests oil output would have to fall more than 70% for Canada to achieve the feds’ net-zero targets by 2050, including a more than 80% cut for oil sands.Both Wilkinson and Guilbeault added they are “taking care” to design the rules to survive a Supreme Court challenge, after it struck down Bill C-69, the so-called ‘no more pipelines act’ last month in a major win for Alberta..Still, any imposition of a cap would clearly cross one of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s hard ‘lines in the sand.' She has firmly and consistently warned both men not to do so while they are engaged in round table panel discussions over proposed electricity rules.At the UCP convention in Calgary last weekend, Smith was clear an emissions cap would not only land up in court, it would also be challenged under the so-called Sovereignty Act and that she “would not give an inch” on the issue.Although it touts itself as a “non-partisan, independently governed“ charity, the Toronto-based Canadian Climate Institute CCI) is closely aligned with the federal government‘s net-zero narrative.In response to the Auditor General’s report on Canada’s lack of progress on emissions, the CCI issued a statement saying the report is a “clear call to action” that confirms the need for the federal government to “accelerate” the implementation of policies such as an oil and gas cap.“It’s crunch time: the federal government must move quickly to finalize the full suite of policies in its plan and then build on them with stronger or additional measures, to deliver the climate action Canadians expect,” director Anna Kanduth said in a release.The Western Standard has reached out to Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz for comment.
