Adjustments To Alberta’s Sger To Ensure The Polluter Pays
Abstract
Since 2007, Alberta’s oil and gas driven economy has been prescribed the Specified Gas Emitters Regulation (SGER) policy, using market-based economic instruments to drive down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity. This research project reviews the policy assumptions that underpin the development of the SGER and tests the policy’s commitment to holding large emitters of industries more accountable by proposing the definition of large emitter be changed from individual facilities to all facilities included under a corporate portfolio within Alberta. By comparing emissions data of facilities within Alberta, I found that large multinational corporations avoided responsibility for a portion of their corporate emissions that could have been covered under the compliance options of the SGER. Quantifying these outlier emissions and converting the hypothetical funds into real world applications of wind turbines, it is evident that the government lost opportunities for further economic investment in renewable projects.
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Citation
Vinova, R. (2017). Adjustments To Alberta’s Sger To Ensure The Polluter Pays (Unpublished report). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.