Canada, US join in net-zero producers’ forum
Canada has joined with the US in creating a new net-zero producers’ forum, Canadian energy minister Seamus O’Regan said April 23.
The forum, which also includes Norway, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, will discuss how oil and gas producing nations can support the Paris Agreement and each country’s aspirations to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Together, the five countries represent about 40% of global oil and natural gas production.
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
The forum was established alongside US president Joe Biden’s Leaders’ Summit on Climate to develop “pragmatic” net-zero emission strategies. Earlier at the summit, Canada pledged to increase its reductions to 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030, while Biden said the US would cut its emissions by 50-52%.
The forum will discuss ways to improve methane abatement, advance the circular carbon economy, develop and deploy carbon capture, use and storage technologies and diversify from reliance on hydrocarbon revenues. For its part, O’Regan said, Canada has already implemented aggressive carbon taxation, revenues from which are being directed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and invest in clean energy while ensuring workers in the oil and gas sector “aren’t left behind” by the energy transition.
“We have hundreds of thousands of workers who know how to build energy infrastructure, and they’ll be the ones to lower emissions and build our clean energy future,” O’Regan said. “The government supports these workers, and we’ll be working with the US and other oil and gas–producing countries in this new net-zero producers’ forum to find and share solutions to reach our climate targets.”