2050 a more important climate target than 2030 for Alberta: carbon capture proponents

Proponents of carbon capture and storage technology say 2050 is a more important target than 2030 when it comes to reducing emissions.

On Wednesday, Alberta’s United Conservative Party government committed for the first time to getting the province to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 — the same time frame the federal government has previously committed to.

However Alberta’s plan doesn’t contain any interim targets, unlike the federal plan which aims for the Canadian economy to achieve 40 to 45 per cent emissions reductions below 2005 levels by 2030.

Alberta faces huge carbon challenges. The latest federal inventory indicates that the province produces about 38 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions with only 11 per cent of its population.

It will be tough for Canada to meet its international climate commitments unless Alberta figures out how to address those challenges.

0:44 Prime Minister Trudeau urges Alberta to contribute to carbon-capture incentives

Most climate models suggest the large-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage will be necessary to achieve significant greenhouse gas reductions from Canada’s heavy emitting oil and gas sector.

There are currently more than 50 proposed carbon capture and storage projects in various stages of development by industry across the country.

But James Millar, head of a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing carbon capture technology, said an aggressive 2030 target will be difficult to reach since most of these projects will take six or seven years to build.

1:56 Pathways Alliance oilsands group pledges to spend $16.5B on carbon capture project