The following comments were submitted by the David Suzuki Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund and Pembina Institute on September 03, 2025 in response to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC’s) proposed Order Declaring that the Provisions of the Regulations Respecting Reduction in the Release of Methane and Certain Volatile Organic Compounds (Upstream Oil and Gas Sector) Do Not Apply in Alberta, 2025.
Background
Alberta’s methane regulations, which are designed to achieve a 45% reduction in oil and gas methane emissions by 2025 (from 2014 levels), were deemed by the Government of Canada to be equivalent to federal regulations in 2020. Updated federal regulations, are anticipated in the near future and will be designed to achieve Canada’s stated target of a 75% reduction of oil and gas methane emissions by 2030 (from 2012 levels).
Once these updated federal regulations are finalized, Alberta will again have the opportunity to design equivalent provincial regulations if it chooses. In the meantime, the federal government must extend its current equivalency agreement with Alberta to ensure that methane sources at oil and gas sites continue to be managed in a way that is congruent with Canada’s climate targets.
