The Government of Canada has issued draft regulations that propose to cap greenhouse gas %Emissions from the country’s energy sector by 35% from 2019 levels.
The regulations would create a cap-and-trade system designed to recognize companies that are emitting fewer greenhouse gas emissions than the industry norm in the oil and natural gas sector.
The new rules would also provide incentives aimed at getting higher-polluting companies in the energy sector to make their production processes cleaner.
The Liberal government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had initially said it wanted the energy industry to cut emissions by up to 38% from 2019 levels by 2030.
The new regulations, which lower the greenhouse gas reduction target also took away the 2030 deadline.
In a news release, Canada’s government based in Ottawa said the revised regulations are designed to put a clear limit on pollution from oil and gas production.
The energy industry and oil-producing provinces such as Alberta say the new regulations are in effect a production cap that will kill jobs and cut tax revenue to all levels of government.
Formal consultations on the new proposed regulations will run from Nov. 9 of this year until Jan. 8, 2025. However, the new rules are expected to become law in Canada in the New Year.
Canada is the sixth largest energy producer in the world and one of the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases on a per capita basis.