Yesterday, Canada joined the U.S. in creating strict methane rules to meet climate goals.
What happened: The federal government is planning to roll out new regulations that target methane emissions in the oil and gas industry, with Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault saying the controlled release or burning of methane will be almost entirely barred by 2030.
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Methane is a greenhouse gas with about 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide and was responsible for about 14% of Canada's total emissions in 2021.
- Methane is released when cows burp, but also when oil is pumped out of the ground. It can be captured and turned into natural gas, but some producers release or burn it.
Zoom out: Officials in Alberta, the heart of the oil and gas industry, called the regulations illegal and said they would use every tool to ensure they aren’t implemented in the province, pointing out that Alberta had already met recent methane reduction targets three years early.
- Experts say the accuracy of current data can be improved with better technology, given that it’s still difficult to assess how much methane is actually being released.
Why it matters: Methane is better at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Big reductions in those emissions could slow the projected increase in global average temperatures by up to 0.1 C by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency.—SB