Some of Canada’s highest greenhouse gas emissions come from tar sands/oil sands mines and upgrading facilities because of the energy it takes to separate bitumen from sand and clay deposits.
But two sources told Reuters that Alberta’s emissions system, the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation , was not intended to provide credits to tar sands/oil sands mines.
Alberta also allows large emitters to choose whether to measure their emissions intensity against their past performance or an industry benchmark.
“A facility can show some continuous improvement and gain credits, but still be a high emitter and be a relatively poor emissions performer from its peers,” Sawyer explained.
The loophole was “ludicrous,” said Équiterre climate policy analyst Émile Boisseau-Bouvier, but the solution doesn’t address the problem.
Though Ottawa has deemed Alberta’s TIER equivalent, the new changes may be responding to growing pressure for the province to raise its standards.