Canada will on Monday unveil the details of its long-awaited plan to cap emissions of greenhouse gases from the oil and gas sector, an idea which the energy industry and some provinces strongly oppose.
Canada said in December 2023 it wanted oil and gas companies to cut emissions up to 38% from 2019 levels by 2030 by introducing a cap-and-trade system, and would unveil its draft proposals before the end of 2024.
A government announcement issued on Sunday said details of the draft plan would be released at 1 pm (1800 GMT) on Monday.
“The regulations would cap pollution, not production,” Hermine Landry, a spokesperson for Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault, said in a statement.
The Liberal government of Justin Trudeau has long made fighting climate change one of its main priorities.
Canada, the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, is aiming to cut emissions 40% to 45% below 2005 levels by 2030. The sector is Canada’s highest-polluting industry, accounting for more than a quarter of all emissions.
“The Canadian oil and gas sector is one of the only sectors where pollution levels continue to rise, with more than double the greenhouse gas pollution than all other industries combined. Every sector needs to do its fair share,” Landry said.
Two of the main oil-producing provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as industry groups, have long said a cap was unnecessary.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren Editing by Chris Reese)