The Government of Alberta has responded to the federal government’s proposal to cap oil and gas emissions.
The federal government is proposing to use an industry-specific cap-and-trade system or a modified carbon pricing system to set a ceiling for emissions from the oil and gas sector and drive them down almost 40 per cent by the end of this decade.
The two options are contained in a discussion paper Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, which was to be published Monday.
“This discussion paper is yet another example of a lesson Ottawa refuses to learn: the only way to actually cut emissions and keep life affordable is to work with the provinces to create environmental policies that will actually work,” Minister of Environment and Park Whitney Issik and Minister of Energy Sonya Savage said in a joint statement Monday.
“Alberta has always taken responsible energy development seriously and that’s why we’ve been taking action on climate change for more than two decades – regulating industry, investing in innovation and supporting industry to adopt clean technology.”
The two ministers said Alberta would not accept any plan that “seeks to interfere in our constitutionally protected ability to develop our resources.”
“Provinces are the owners of these natural resources, which have been responsibly managed on behalf of Canadians for decades,” said Issik and Savage.
“In May 2022, the Court of Appeal of Alberta ruled that the Impact Assessment Act raises an issue of fundamental fairness. The justices determined that the federal government has taken a wrecking ball to the constitutional right of Albertans and other provinces to have their natural resources developed for their benefit.”
The federal government cannot act “unilaterally to meet their emissions targets,” said the ministers.
“The global energy crisis and skyrocketing cost of living are affecting all Canadians, particularly those who are most vulnerable.
“Rising energy prices are impacting business supply chains and the transportation sector, making life more expensive for Canadians – from putting gas in their cars to buying groceries to heating and cooling their homes.”
The oil and gas industry accounts for more than one-quarter of Canada’s total emissions — 179 million tonnes in 2020, or about what an average car would emit driving around the equator more than 17 million times.
—With files from The Canadian Press
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