Question Period Note: Reducing Methane Emissions

Reducing Methane Emissions

• Limiting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius requires urgent action to reduce methane emissions.
• In addition to being one of the fastest and lowest cost ways to fight climate change, reducing methane emissions will also improve air quality by preventing smog.
• Canada was one of the first countries to regulate oil and gas methane. In 2016, we set a target of reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40–45% below 2012 levels by 2025 and we put in place regulations to help achieve that target.
• Responding to the global imperative for further cuts, we are now taking further action to reduce oil and gas methane emissions by 75% below 2012 levels by 2030.
• Internationally, Canada has played a leading role in global methane reduction initiatives. Recently, Canada signed on to the Global Methane Pledge to work collaboratively to reduce global methane emissions by 30% below 2020 levels by 2030.
• Moving forward, we will work with partners in each of the major methane emitting sectors. In addition to oil and gas, this will include action to reduce methane emissions from landfills and from various agricultural activities.
• We will also work to encourage more countries to support the Pledge and commit to ambitious action on methane.

• Methane accounts for about 13% of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Three sectors account for 92% of Canada’s methane emissions: oil and gas sector (37%); agriculture (28%) and landfills (27%).

• Globally, methane emissions are at their highest level ever, as of July 2020. Researchers from the Global Carbon Project said that continued increases in methane levels could see global temperatures increase by 3-4 degrees by 2100.

• The International Energy Agency has made it clear that curbing methane emissions from oil and gas operations represents one of the best near-term opportunities for limiting the worst impacts of climate change and has called on countries and companies to reduce methane emissions from the sector by 75% by 2030.

• On October 11, 2021, the Government announced Canada’s support for the Global Methane Pledge, and [the Prime Minister] officially signed the Pledge at COP26 on [November 2, 2021].

• In support of the Pledge and the goals in Canada’s strengthened climate plan, the Government also announced it would develop a plan to:
o reduce methane emissions across the broader Canadian economy; and
o reduce oil and gas methane emissions by at least 75% below 2012 levels by 2030, including through regulations.

• Action on methane will be an important part of the Government’s efforts to meet its new Nationally Determined Contribution of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40–45% by 2030.

• Moving forward, Canada will mobilize and work with the various sectors, provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples, and other stakeholders in developing our approach.

• These commitments build on Canada’s existing actions to curb methane emissions. In 2016, Canada set a target of reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40–45% below 2012 levels by 2025, and regulations to help achieve it came into effect in January 2020.

• Last year, the Government also launched the Emissions Reduction Fund to achieve additional methane reductions in the oil and gas sector.

• Agriculture and landfills are also among the largest sources of methane emissions that need to be addressed both globally and domestically.

• The Government of Canada is committed to supporting Canadian farmers and industry partners who are taking action to reduce emissions, sequester carbon and make their operations more sustainable, productive and competitive. This includes through investments in new programs such as the Agricultural Climate Solutions initiative and the Agricultural Clean Technology Program, which aim to help farmers adopt new, beneficial management practices and clean technologies to boost productivity and lower emissions—including from methane.

• The Government is also committed to developing a regulatory approach to increase the number of landfills that collect and treat methane, and ensure existing systems capture as many methane emissions as possible.

• Internationally, Canada has played a leading role and is an active participant in global initiatives to reduce methane emissions including as Chair of the Global Methane Initiative, and as a founding partner in the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and the Arctic Council.

• Moving ahead, Canada will work with the U.S., the EU and other early supporters of the Global Methane Pledge, not only to encourage additional countries to support the Pledge and commit to ambitious action on methane, but also to encourage other oil-producing nations to commit to its 2030 75% goal.

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