Letter from Canada: Emission caps threaten output

Canada’s lack of progress in meeting ambitious emission reduction goals is a particular threat to the country’s upstream oil and gas sector

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government has increased its national greenhouse gas emission reduction target for 2030 to between 40pc and 45pc of 2005 levels, up from 30pc previously. But the country managed to cut emissions by a mere 9mn t CO₂ equivalent, or 1pc, through 2019, based on its latest submission to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Assuming the federal government stands firm on its national target, the biggest loser could be the country’s oil and gas sector. Its emissions have increased by a fifth, to 191mn t, since 2005—on the back of a near two-and-a-half times jump in emissions from the oil sands, despite a significant improvement in emissions intensit