Oil and gas rules last chance to meet greenhouse reduction targets: report

OTTAWA – A new report says the oil and gas sector will need to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 42 per cent if Canada expects to hit overall reductions targets by the end of the decade.

And the Pembina Institute says that can only happen if forthcoming federal regulations go much farther than those already in place in Alberta.

The Conservative government has been promising new rules for the oil and gas sector since 2008, recently hinting they would be unveiled this year.

They’re expected to follow earlier regulations for the transportation and electricity sectors, all aimed at reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020.

The institute says with the oil and gas sector responsible for about 22 per cent of all emissions, the rules for them are the most important.

The report says they should include a minimum $100-per-tonne technology fund price and a cap on access to offset credits.