Sask. premier Scott Moe calls Canada’s new cap on oil and gas emissions a ‘burdren’

Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe is not happy to hear the federal government’s planned cap on oil and gas emissions.

On Thursday the federal government announced the oil and gas industry will be required to cut more than one-third of its emissions by 2030.

The new framework says emissions need to be reduced 35 to 38 per cent below 2019 levels. This is below the 40 per cent target that was anticipated from a 2022 emissions reduction proposal.

“All sectors of our economy need to reduce their emissions, and that includes oil and gas companies,” federal Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault said on Thursday. “The Government of Canada’s plan to cap and reduce emissions from Canada’s largest emitting sector is ambitious, but practical. It considers the global demand for oil and gas—and the importance of the sector in Canada’s economy—and sets a limit that is strict, but achievable.”

Moe, who is currently in Dubai at the COP28 conference issued a statement about the announcement, calling it a “burden” on Canadian families.

“This week at COP28, Canadian oil and gas producers have been showing the world that they produce some of the most sustainable energy products on the planet,” Moe said. “Instead of taking the opportunity to promote Canada’s sustainable oil and gas industry on the world stage as Saskatchewan is doing, the federal government’s response has been to impose two new policies just this week, on methane and an oil and gas cap, that target this sector and burden it with more red tape and regulations.”

According to Moe, Saskatchewan has taken significant steps to lower greenhouse gas emissions. He referenced reducing methane emissions by 64 per cent since 2015, installing the first operational carbon capture and storage system in the world at Boundary Dam Power Station in 2014, and investing billions of dollars in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, and natural gas generation.

“Saskatchewan remains opposed to the new methane regulations and the oil and gas emissions cap, and we will protect our constitutional right to build our economy in accordance with the priorities of Saskatchewan families and businesses,” Moe said.

“These new federal policies will have serious economic impacts on Canadians and limit our sustainable Canadian energy products from providing heat and electricity to the world.”

— More info to come.