{"id":8873,"date":"2023-11-27T12:34:04","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T12:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/?p=8873"},"modified":"2023-11-27T12:34:04","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T12:34:04","slug":"ottawa-to-announce-new-methane-regulations-heading-into-cop28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/8873\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa to announce new methane regulations heading into COP28"},"content":{"rendered":"

RoydadNaft – <\/a><\/span>\u00a0The federal government is poised to announce new regulations and funding around methane \u2013 a greenhouse gas that\u2019s 85 times more potent than carbon dioxide \u2013 heading into COP28 <\/b>on Thursday.<\/p>\n

These regulations will be the cornerstone of Canada\u2019s COP28 climate plan. They follow the 2021 Global Methane Pledge, a joint agreement in which more than 100 countries promised to cut methane emissions by at least 30 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s strategy is more ambitious: It hopes to reduce emissions by 40 per cent to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. It plans to do this by cutting oil and gas sector emissions by 75 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re very close to being ready,\u201d said Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault about methane regulations. \u201cI would be shocked if by the time I come back from COP, we haven\u2019t announced them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether Canada will meet these targets depends on two factors, say environmentalists, researchers and industry representatives. Will the regulations be thorough and practical? And will funding be set aside for accurate data collection?<\/p>\n

Between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of global warming to date has been caused by methane, said Matthew Johnson, head of the Energy and Emissions Research Lab at Carleton University.<\/p>\n

However, while methane is far more potent, it has an atmospheric lifetime of nine years, compared to the hundreds to thousands of years that carbon dioxide exists in the atmosphere. This means that if methane emissions are cut by 30 per cent by 2030, said Dr. Johnson, the effects will be immediate, and warming would be cut by half a degree by the end of the century.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an unbelievably powerful, big lever we can pull,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is nothing else we can do that will get us the same bang for our buck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s methane strategy is focusing on the oil and gas sector, which emits 1.5 million metric tonnes of methane each year, at least 40 per cent of total emissions. Agriculture and landfills make up the rest.<\/p>\n

While the reduction goal is ambitious, it is possible, said Tom Green, senior climate policy adviser at the David Suzuki Foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMethane is the cheapest option out there for quick actions and quick start,\u201d Mr. Green said. \u201cThe technology is available off the shelf for most applications.\u201d<\/p>\n

New regulations are expected to mandate that the oil and gas industry update infrastructure to prevent methane leakage through valves and pipes. They are also expected to ban \u2013 or restrict \u2013 a practice called flaring, where companies burn methane byproduct at the wellhead. Instead, they are being encouraged to capture the gas, so it can be cleaned, compressed and sold as natural gas.<\/p>\n

Broadly, industry is open to changes, said Tristan Goodman, president of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada. However, updating infrastructure to eliminate leakage is expensive and cannot be done immediately, he said. Each new valve can cost thousands of dollars. Practical timelines are key to success, he said.<\/p>\n

He also said that a complete ban on flaring is untenable. Occasionally, for emergency or maintenance purposes, a plant might need to flare. He hopes the regulations will permit occasional flaring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s difficult, it\u2019s expensive, it\u2019s tough,\u201d Mr. Goodman said about the methane reduction strategy. \u201cBut in the same vein, we understand why the government is pursuing this.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said meeting the 2030 target is possible, and will be a matter of practical ambition and realistic timelines that do not make Canadian businesses uncompetitive in a global marketplace.<\/p>\n

However, the biggest challenge moving forward is data collection, Dr. Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Currently, methane emissions are calculated and collected by industry using a \u201cbottom up\u201d strategy. Methane emissions are calculated for each process and piece of equipment, and then multiplied by the number of times these processes are completed or equipment is used.<\/p>\n

But research shows that these forecasts vastly underestimate methane emissions.<\/p>\n

On Nov. 15, Dr. Johnson and colleagues at the Carleton Energy and Emissions Research Lab published a Nature study showing that methane emissions were 1.5 times higher than official predictions. The data \u2013 based on 2021 levels \u2013 showed that Alberta\u2019s oil and gas operations emitted 50 per cent more methane than expected. Dr. Johnson is finalizing a study on Saskatchewan\u2019s sector. It is similar to Alberta, he said.<\/p>\n

Researchers and environmentalists are therefore hoping that the government will follow through on its 2021 promise to fund a centre of excellence on methane detection and elimination. This centre could reliably collect data based on real-time measurements, independent from industry, Mr. Green said. He calculates that it will cost approximately $75-million over five years.<\/p>\n

The federal government has yet to set aside money for the centre of excellence and did not respond to The Globe and Mail\u2019s requests for an interview on methane emissions specifically.<\/p>\n

However, Mr. Guilbeault\u2019s office is stressing that the methane strategy is a priority going into COP on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cMethane is definitely a priority,\u201d the minister said in a broad interview on COP strategy. \u201cOf all the complicated things we have to do to tackle climate change, this is one of the less complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Updated on