The director of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) said Friday that Canada’s climate commitments risk putting the country at odds with its economic rivals.
According to Tim McMillan, as Canada ramps up its environmental ambitions at events like this week’s climate conference in Scotland, the federal government must redouble its efforts to drag the rest of the world in its wake.
Macmillan added that Canada’s carbon tax – the only one among the world’s top 10 oil producing countries – and its strict methane regulations are examples where Canada might sing alone when part of a choir.
“I am not saying that Canada should not take a leadership role or that we should not continually improve, because we are. (But) we need a realistic holistic approach to get others in our wake.”
Macmillan calls for an international system for countries to obtain credits to reduce emissions for work such as selling low-carbon natural gas to replace coal. He also called for some kind of tax on carbon imports to protect domestic industries from competition from countries with lower climate targets.
Not anytime soon, said Federal Environment Minister Stephen Gelbolt.
“It’s too early to think we’ll be able to get into the smallest details of what the credit system will look like,” he said on Friday from Glasgow.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, who is also in Glasgow, doesn’t think Canada is far behind its peers.
The United States pledged to cut methane emissions by 30% and this week 103 countries signed it, including Canada. Canada’s major oil companies pledged net carbon emissions long before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formalized them in Glasgow, including a net zero commitment by 2050.
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