Is Alberta Greenwashing Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

Alberta frequently claims to be "greening" its dirty, fossil-fuel industries: coal and oil sands. One major, much-vaunted initiative is the Greenhouse Gas emission system in the Specified Gas Emitter Regulation. The regulation requires large emitters of greenhouse gases to either reduce the intensity of their own emissions, or to "offset" their emissions in one of the following ways:

• Pay the modest sum of $15/tonne into the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund;
• Use emission performance credits—When regulated facilities achieve actual emissions intensity that is less than their emissions intensity limit, they create emission performance credits. A facility may use credits it created in prior years or use credits that other regulated facilities created; or