Canada announces new rules for reducing oil and gas methane emission
Canada has announced rules that have been promised for years to reduce methane emissions in the country's oil & gas sector.
The regulations set out a way?for?Canada, the fourth largest oil producer in the world to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 75% from 2014 levels by the year 2035.
The new rules fulfill the promise made by Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada to strengthen Canada's methane regulations. However, they allow for a slightly extended timeframe than that announced in previous drafts under Justin Trudeau's predecessor.
Trudeau’s never-implemented regulations called for a reduction of 75% in methane emission by 2030. The oil and gas industry criticized the rules for being too hard to achieve.
Methane is not as persistent in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide but it can still have an 80-fold greater impact on climate warming over a period of 20 years.
According to the Canadian government, oil and gas facilities account for about half of Canada's methane emissions. The main component of natural gas, methane, is released into the atmosphere by oil and gas production practices like venting and flaring. It can also escape from infrastructure such as wells.
The new regulations, which come into effect in 2028 will prohibit venting, with a few exceptions, and set up a schedule of inspections for companies, to detect equipment leaks and fix them.
Operators can design their own methods of controlling methane, as long as they reach the required thresholds for methane concentration.
The total greenhouse gas emissions of Canada's oil-and-gas sector are expected to increase as production increases. Canada is unlikely to achieve its 2030 target to reduce greenhouse gas production by 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels.
Carney has been criticized for prioritizing climate change over the economy by environmentalists. He recently reversed some of Canada's emission policies in order to encourage energy investment.
The country has made progress on methane. The previously enacted regulations, which require the industry to inspect and repair their equipment regularly to reduce leaks have helped Canada to "meet" its previous commitment to reduce methane by 40% to 45% below 2012 levels before 2025.
The Canadian government stated that the new regulations will reduce emissions by up to 304 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent between 2025 and 35. However, oil and gas production is only expected to be reduced by 0.2%.
(source: Reuters)
