Alberta Announces More Stringent GHG Emission Regulations And Climate Change Policy Review Panel

In her first major policy announcement since taking office five weeks ago, Alberta's Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips announced today that Alberta's primary GHG regulation will be renewed and updated. The Specified Gas Emitters Regulation (SGER), enacted in 2007 as North America's first legislation to put a price on carbon, was set to expire on June 30, 2015.

The Minister said emission intensity reduction requirements in the SGER will be increased in a phased-in manner from 12 percent to 15 percent in 2016, and to 20 percent in 2017. An increase in the price of Technology Fund credits, which large emitters (>100,000 tonnes per year) can purchase to achieve their compliance targets and commonly known as the "carbon levy", will also be phased-in. The price will rise from CA$15 to CA$20 per credit in 2016 and escalate to CA$30 per credit by 2017. Large emitters may purchase one credit for each tonne of GHG emission reductions required to meet their