The Federal Government's Climate Change Policy and the Role of Carbon Capture and Storage

Abstract

Following release of its new greenhouse gas policy in April 2007, the Government of Canada released additional documents in March 2008, elaborating on various aspects of the policy with actual regulations promised in Fall 2008. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is relevant to the policy in four ways: (1) regulated emitters may meet their targets by engaging in CCS, (2) CCS projects will qualify as offsets projects, (3) a regulated entity may dedicate its fund contributions to a CCS project, and (4) CCS technology will be used to determine emissions intensity targets for new (post-2012) projects.