The Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, moved Canada a step closer to using cleaner fuels, with the release December 13 of the regulatory framework outlining the proposed design of Canada’s Clean Fuel Standard. The framework will provide the basis for technical discussions and regulations that will require the use of cleaner fuels such as biofuels in vehicles, industries, and buildings.
According to a statement, the proposed Clean Fuel Standard is one of the ways in which Canada “is taking bold action” to ensure a sustainable planet for future generations, build a clean economy, and create more opportunities for middle-class Canadians.
Canadians know that the environment and the economy go hand in hand. The Clean Fuel Standard will give Canadians better access to clean fuels and will make a significant cut in Canada’s carbon pollution. It will also spur clean growth and create good jobs in communities across the country. Using cleaner fuels in our buildings, vehicles, and industrial operations is one of the biggest steps we can take to reduce carbon pollution and make our economy cleaner and more competitive, said Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Officials from Environment and Climate Change Canada will engage industry, other governments, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to work through the technical details of the Clean Fuel Standard with the aim of publishing draft regulations by late 2018.
The Clean Fuel Standard will require fuel producers, importers, or distributors to reduce the amount of carbon pollution associated with liquid, solid, and gaseous fuels. They will be able to do this by reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced during any part of a fuel’s lifecycle — whether they are released during production or when transporting the fuel to processors and end users, or when the fuel is combusted.
The Clean Fuel Standard will be a flexible regulation that will provide a wide range of compliance options for fuel producers, importers, or distributors. It is the single largest emission-reduction policy in Canada’s climate and clean-growth plan and will be designed to reduce Canada’s GHG emissions by 30 million tonnes per annum, by 2030.
Renewable fuels offer a very big opportunity for Canada’s farmers and agricultural producers. The national Clean Fuel Standard will create new demand for ethanol, biodiesel, renewable natural gas, and other advanced biofuels. This is a good news story for climate change and for clean innovation in the agricultural sector, said Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
