EDMONTON—Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party (UCP) has released an emission reduction plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The province has said it expects to transition from coal-fired electricity in 2023, seven years ahead of provincial and federal targets. According to the ERED plan, Alberta has an established regulatory process for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), and is one of only a few jurisdictions that has the geology available to store enough C02 to reach carbon neutral status by 2050.
The policy plan outlines the province’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) regulatory system, which is Alberta’s carbon pricing and emissions trading system.
“Alberta is investing $800 million in TIER funding across multiple sectors over the next three years (2023-24 to 2025-26) in projects and programs that will support jobs, reduce emissions and help Albertans adapt to climate change,” the plan says.
The ERED plan includes a plan to open projects for indigenous communities to participate, and increase economic activity, said Minister of Environment Sonya Savage.
She said Alberta is focused on “emission reduction outcomes and energy security, not eliminating specific industries or types of natural resources.”
According to Savage, instead of the province moving away from hydrocarbons, the plan includes ways to use the resources in new ways to provide sustainably produced energy.
The minister said that the current plan “has not set interim, hard, regulated targets” which she acknowledged critics could see as a gap.
“Before we regulate or impose limits on specific industries, and interim targets, there is more work to be done. We have to see what’s achievable,” she said in defence of the approach.
She said that federally, Canada has missed nine targets over the years by creating plans with random targets. The province intends to start with comprehensive assessments with industry experts in each sector, over the next few months, she said, based on set policies.
She noted the province will be studying each sector to consider what is viable, what technology has to be scaled or financed, and the regulatory process in place to complete projects, with heavy consultation along the way.
Reaction
NDP Leader Rachel Notley criticized the government’s plan, saying it doesn’t have adequate measures.“Generally... and I’m just putting this out there ... Plans have details, targets and measures in them,” Notley said on Twitter. “It’s how we build investor certainty, create good-paying jobs and build a better future.”
Touting her own to-be-released plan on the file, Notley said her party has a “a robust plan that will create good-paying jobs and drive growth.”
Jack Mintz, president’s fellow with the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy who assisted in the development of the government’s plan, said the policy has a list of actions to reduce emissions, without impeding economic growth.
