Premier Danielle Smith, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Energy and Minerals Brian Jean, and Minister of Justice Mickey Amery announced in Edmonton on Nov. 26, 2024, new actions to defend Alberta from the proposed federal emissions cap. Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta

By rdnewsNOW Staff

ENERGY

Alberta renews call for feds to ‘scrap the cap’ on oil and gas emissions

Jan 8, 2025 | 12:52 PM

Alberta’s environment minister Rebecca Schulz renewed her call for the federal government to scrap proposed oil and gas emissions cap regulations on Wednesday after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed his plans to step down after a new Liberal leader is chosen.

In November 2024, the Canadian government announced drafted regulations that would set a cap on greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas sector, mandating them to 35 per cent below 2019 levels.

It also included a cap-and-trade system designed to recognize better-performing companies and incentivize those that are higher-polluting to invest in cleaner production.

Federal energy minister Jonathan Wilkinson, said the proposal is intended to ensure “long-term economic competitiveness” amidst our democratic allies and other major countries making changes to their carbon footprints.

In the province’s newest technical response to the proposed cap, it refers to independent assessments by Deloitte, the Conference Board of Canada and S&P Global, which found the cap could have significant detrimental impacts to Alberta’s economy.

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“Alberta has submitted detailed analysis showing, once again, that the proposed federal oil and gas emission cap is in reality an ideological cap on oil and gas production,” Schulz said in her latest statement.

“The 35 per cent cut to emissions by 2030 is not achievable or realistic, and families across Canada will pay the price.”

Deloitte’s report forecasts a $16 billion cut to Canada’s GDP produced by oil and gas in 2035, while the Conference Board of Canada predicts an $11 billion cut in revenue for all of Canada in the same year.

“Trade of oil, natural gas, electricity and uranium reached a record total of $156 billion USD in 2023 and nearly all natural gas going into the U.S. comes from Canada,” Schulz continued.

“The proposed regulations would significantly harm this important trade relationship and threaten to make Canadian industry less competitive while further disrupting Canada’s trade balance with one of our largest trading partners.”

Additionally, Alberta says the proposal infringes on its constitutional jurisdiction over non-renewable natural resource development, and that it’s prepared to bring the issue to the courts if it is to become law.