Page 4 - NorthAmOil Week 15 2021

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

Canada grapples

with GHG emissions

Canada is faced with a considerable challenge as it

considers how to cut greenhouse gas emissions in

order to meet long-term decarbonisation targets

CANADA CANADA appears to be increasingly more seri- suggested that methane emissions were one-
ous about its decarbonisation targets, but this and-a-half to two times higher respectively
WHAT: new focus comes with a growing awareness of than official estimates.
Efforts to cut GHG how difficult it will be to meet these goals. The Canadian government estimates meth-
emissions look set to be The country is aiming for net-zero green- ane emissions using mathematical modelling
extremely challenging for house gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, and its based on a small number of field measurements
Canada. decarbonisation ambitions received a major but there have been calls to move to widespread
boost recently when the Canadian Supreme measuring of methane.
WHY: Court upheld the federal carbon tax. How- “Right now the inventory is based on esti-
The country may be ever, subsequent developments illustrate how mates that are over a decade old and they’re
undercounting its the path forward looks increasingly more proposing using new estimates, which is a step
emissions currently, challenging. forward, but it still uses estimates,” a Pembina
which affects the On April 12, Environment and Climate Institute senior analyst, Jan Gorski, who studies
attainability of Change Canada published a new report, which methane emissions from the oil and gas indus-
decarbonisation targets. showed that GHG emissions increased slightly try, was quoted by CBC News as saying.
in 2019 – the first year during which the federal “Eventually where we want to get to is to actu-
WHAT NEXT: carbon tax was in place. The increase was only ally use real field measurements of methane. So
Oil sands producers 0.2% on a year-on-year basis, taking Canada looking at what are the real levels of methane
say they will set new to 730 megatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) that are being emitted right now in the field,”
emissions targets but will emissions over the course of 2019. But it means Gorski added.
not pivot from their core Canada will have to do more in order to meet its Environment and Climate Change Canada
businesses. emissions targets. has said that this could happen, but has not
It was not all bad news, however, with Envi- given any indication of the sort of timeframes
ronment and Climate Change Canada also not- that would be involved.
ing that the economy grew faster than emissions If Canada wants to address these challenges, GHG emissions as
in 2019, and that the country’s emissions inten- though, it has no time to lose. Aside from the
sity was therefore lower than before. Indeed, long-term targets, the country has also pledged measured against
GHG emissions as measured against the size of to reduce its methane emissions 40-45% below the size of the
the economy are reported to have declined 37% 2012 levels by 2025. Plans for achieving this
since 1990, and 23% since 2005. This is largely include regulations to monitor and fix or mod- economy are
attributed to improving energy efficiency, which ify methane leaks in equipment on oil and gas
means economic growth is not translating into sites. Federal funding is also available to help reported to have
much higher emissions. companies that are trying to reduce methane
Thus Canada can be seen to be making pro- emissions over and above the regulations. declined 37%
gress on decarbonisation – but in the face of However, concerns have been raised over the since 1990, and
more ambitious targets over the coming years, country’s ability to identify where methane leaks
it still has a long way to go. are occurring, and while researchers are stud- 23% since 2005.
ying better detection methods, implementing
Methane setback them will take time.
In another setback for Canadian emissions
reduction ambitions, CBC News reported on Under pressure
April 15 that current emissions were likely Canada has missed all of the previous emissions
being undercounted. The news service cited targets it has set itself over the past 30 years, and
findings from FluxLab at St Francis Xavier there is plenty of scepticism over its ability to
University in Nova Scotia, as well as research now turn its performance around. Nonethe-
from last year by government scientists, which less, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 15 15•April•2021