OTTAWA — Bora Plumptre, senior analyst, federal policy at the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to the revised timeline for the clean fuel standard draft regulations:
“In this global health and economic crisis, we understand the government’s first priority is to protect Canadians’ health and the economy. We’re grateful for the attention the federal government has given to addressing the crisis, working over the last two months with industry, provinces, municipalities, the health care sector, and labour groups.
“Unlike other environmental and climate regulations already in place, the clean fuel standard is still being drafted. This new policy will improve the carbon-competitiveness of industry and sectors across the economy, including transportation and buildings, and will result in sizable increases in direct and indirect jobs and annual economic activity from clean fuels. It’s important to get it right. Moving the release of draft regulations on liquid fuels to the fall gives the government and stakeholders time to get the final pieces into place to ensure a strong policy that will reach full economic and environmental potential. We’re heartened to see the updated timeline has not affected the ambition of the policy, or the planned entry-into-force in 2022. This approach provides market and regulatory certainty to the stakeholder community while leaving no emissions reductions on the table.
“The clean fuel standard is one of the most important tools we have to reduce the climate impact of transportation fuels and prompt greater adoption and deployment of the low-carbon alternatives needed to help the Canadian economy withstand future shocks and disruptions. The policy will provide fuel suppliers, investors, and clean technology firms with a consistent, technology-neutral signal to invest in innovation and shift toward lower-carbon energy sources. This will help tackle climate change while fuelling Canadian job growth as the global market for clean fuels expands.”
Quick Facts
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Recent Navius Research modelling has shown that, by 2030, a fully implemented clean fuel standard would increase annual economic activity in clean fuels by $4.9 billion to $5.6 billion (2015 CAD)
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The same modelling shows the clean fuel standard will increase employment through the net addition of between 11,000 and 16,000 direct and indirect jobs
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If fully implemented the clean fuel standard will deliver 30 Mt of GHG emissions reductions annually, or 14 per cent of Canada’s 2030 climate target
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Contact
Kelly O’Connor
Associate communications director
416-220-8804
Background
Recommendations: Green Stimulus: Principles and recommendations for a 2020 economic stimulus package (March 2020)
Blog: Canada’s clean fuel standard is exactly the kind of climate action we need (July 2019)
About the Pembina Institute
The Pembina Institute is a non-profit think-tank that advocates for strong, effective policies to support Canada’s clean energy transition. We have offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Toronto. Learn more: www.pembina.org
