Oil and gas firms press Carney to scale back climate rules as Canada weighs emissions plan update
Oil and gas companies have lobbied Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to roll back key Trudeau-era climate policies ahead of an expected update to Canada’s Emissions Reduction Plan.
Carl Meyer reports for The Narwhal.
In short:
- In meetings and lobbying disclosures from May and June, oil and gas firms targeted regulations on clean fuels, electricity, methane, carbon pricing, and the proposed emissions cap, all core elements of Canada’s 2022 climate plan.
- Companies including Enbridge, Suncor, Shell, and Imperial Oil lobbied Carney’s ministers, often citing competitiveness and U.S. tariffs under President Trump’s administration as reasons to weaken federal climate regulations.
- The Carney government says it will update the climate plan by year’s end, citing economic changes and global pressures, but has not detailed which policies might be changed or retained.
Key quote:
“These are long-standing demands from these various industries: ‘Get rid of these things, we don’t want to be a part of this.’”
— Alex Cool-Fergus, national policy manager at Climate Action Network Canada
Why this matters:
Canada’s oil and gas sector is its largest source of industrial emissions, and lobbying efforts to dismantle or delay climate rules come as the country grapples with worsening climate impacts. Canada is warming at twice the global average — faster in its North — and 2024’s extreme heat and wildfire seasons bore the mark of human-driven climate change, according to government scientists. The 2022 climate plan aimed to cut emissions and reach net-zero by 2050, but ongoing pressure from the fossil fuel industry threatens to derail or dilute those commitments.
Related: Canada’s new prime minister backs fossil fuels while promising Indigenous partnerships
