LNG Canada's flare stack burns above its liquid natural gas export facility in Kitimat, B.C., in August. Ottawa has released new methane regulations for oil and gas producers and large landfills.Jesse Winter/Reuters
Oil-and-gas producers and operators of large landfills will be subject to new methane regulations come 2028, under federal rules that are more stringent – but also more flexible – than those that previously governed emissions reduction.
Reducing methane pollution is seen by policy makers as something of a low-hanging fruit to help combat climate change. The gas is potent; it is roughly 80 times more harmful than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. But the technology to abate it is proven to work and is relatively cheap.
The goal of the federal government’s new regulations, released Tuesday, is to reduce methane emissions from the oil-and-gas sector by 304 megatonnes between 2028 – when the rules take effect – and 2040. Ottawa estimates doing so will cost industry roughly $14-billion.
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Landfill regulations are separate from oil and gas. Government expects them to reduce emissions by around 100 MT by 2040, in part through robust methane monitoring.
Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature, said Tuesday that Canada has “both a moral imperative and an economic opportunity” to reduce emissions, and the new regulations are “a massive step forward” in doing so.
“It is one of the most important things that we can do and one of the most cost-effective things that we can do,” Ms. Dabrusin said at an event in Burnaby, B.C.
The new rules for oil and gas build on those released in 2018, when Canada became one of the first countries to enact regulations to reduce methane emissions from the sector’s new and existing facilities. They were a key part of Ottawa’s climate-change plan at the time, which included a goal of reducing methane emissions by 40 per cent to 45 per cent from 2012 levels by 2025.
The new regulations contain stronger requirements to reduce methane emissions than the 2018 rules, along with more robust requirements to strengthen leak detection and make repairs.
Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature, in Ottawa on Dec. 3. She said Tuesday that Canada has 'both a moral imperative and an economic opportunity' to reduce emissions.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Operators will have two ways to comply.
They can choose to take action to stop methane venting and establish an inspection schedule to find leaks and repair them. Their other option is to design their own methane-control approaches, though they must meet specific emissions limits.
Ms. Dabrusin said this gives operators flexibility to implement methane-reduction solutions that make the most sense for them.
The regulations will apply to gas processing plants, transmission facilities and onshore oil-and-gas production, such as well sites and pipelines. Oil refineries, fuel terminals and municipal gas distribution infrastructure are exempt. The rules will be phased in starting Jan. 1, 2028.
However, Alberta – by far Canada’s largest producer of oil and gas – will have longer to meet any emissions-reduction target, under the memorandum of understanding signed last month by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Canada has a commitment to reduce oil-and-gas methane emissions by 75 per cent from 2012 levels by 2030. Under the MOU, Alberta has a 2035 target date – five years later than the rest of the country.
Amanda Bryant, a senior analyst at the Pembina Institute, a think tank, said while the federal methane regulations are well designed, their effect will be decided in Alberta through MOU talks.
The five-year carve-out means “the path forward for these new regulations in Alberta is already unclear,” Ms. Bryant said in a statement.
“We therefore urge the federal government to use these new federal regulations as the yardstick against which it assesses whatever proposed pathway to reducing methane Alberta presents during the forthcoming MOU negotiations.”
Rebecca Schulz, Alberta’s Environment Minister, said the province would “focus on practical and flexible methane reduction solutions that enable our industry to stay competitive” when it develops its plans.
The new regulations are part of Ottawa’s Climate Competitiveness Strategy, contained in the federal government’s 2025 budget. Ms. Dabrusin said a progress report on Ottawa’s emissions-reductions plan will be released before the end of the year.
As part of Tuesday’s announcement, Ms. Dabrusin also announced nearly $16-million in funding for investment in methane emissions-reduction technologies across Canada.