Canada Issues Final Standards to Curb Methane Pollution from the Oil and Gas Industry

Canada issued robust, nationwide standards expected to cut methane pollution from the oil and gas industry by 40 to 45 percent.  Environmental groups strongly support the government for following through on its commitment to regulate methane emissions from new and existing sources nationwide. However there is still lots of work to be done to realize the reductions envisioned in today’s regulations.

Provinces, specifically British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, can either adopt the federal framework or develop their own regulations to achieve the stated reduction in emissions. The federal government must now ensure that any provincial rules achieve equal or greater methane reductions.  Alberta’s proposed regulations could sharply undermine the progress made by the national standards.

The oil and gas sector is the largest source of methane and other greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, and cutting oil and gas methane emissions is one of the cheapest, most effective actions to slow the rate of global warming. Canada’s actions are in line with a number of states in the U.S. that are moving forward to reduce methane emissions. In fact, even more oil and gas production is covered by regulations in U.S. states than will be covered under Canada’s regulations.

Despite the ongoing efforts of the Trump administration to roll back methane rules in the U.S., Congress and the courts have rejected their efforts. Global momentum on methane is only growing. Canada, leading U.S. states, industry leaders, investor activists and others continue to move forward to reduce unnecessary releases of this harmful climate pollutant.

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The US-based environmental organizations listed below have issued the following statement in support of Canada issuing strong federal standards to curb methane emissions from the Canadian oil and gas industry:

Clean Air Council
Clean Air Task Force
Earthworks
Environmental Defense Fund
Fort Berthold Protectors of Water and Earth Rights
Natural Resources Defense Council
Nature Abounds
San Juan Citizens Alliance
Sierra Club
Western Environmental Law Center