Question Period Note: Emissions Reduction Fund

The Government of Canada has committed $750 million to the Emissions Reduction Fund to help achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 as part of its economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will be launched in October 2020

• The Government of Canada has created a new $750 million Emissions Reduction Fund to assist firms that are preparing to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help keep oil and gas workers employed.
• Methane emissions are one of the most potent greenhouse gases and Canada’s oil and gas sector is the source of 43 percent of those emissions.
• The Emissions Reduction Fund will provide incentives to companies to put in place plans that go beyond regulatory compliance, with the goal of maximizing reductions in methane and other greenhouse gas emissions, protecting the environment, and advancing research and development in the oil and gas sector.
• This will maintain jobs and opportunities for Canadians in the sector while positioning industry to keep up with, and lead, the global energy transition, making it more globally competitive in a post-pandemic environment.
• Reducing emissions from methane is a significant part of Canada’s plan to achieve net-zero by 2050.
If pressed:
• Of the $750 million Emissions Reduction Fund, up to $675 million is available to onshore conventional oil and gas companies, primarily to reduce green house emissions, with a focus on methane.
• The remaining amount, up to $75 million, is for investments in emissions reduction in research, development and demonstration in the offshore sector.
• This new fund will help ensure that, given the recent downturn, investments in deployable technologies related to emissions reductions continue across Canada’s petroleum sector.

N/A

None