Canada is in the process of putting a cap on corporate oil and gas sector emissions. Survivors of wildfires, floods, and other climate impacts in Canada have been actively calling on political leaders to implement this emissions cap. This has been covered by Canadian media including The Hill Times, Vancouver Sun, and CBC News.
Equinor is a member of lobbying groups like Energy NL and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, which are actively fighting to kill the policy. That’s despite the fact that for many oil and gas companies the emissions cap can be met through further cheap methane reduction efforts as the Pembina Institute pointed out in November of 2024.
“These are lobbying groups in which Equinor has membership.” states Conor Curtis, Head of Communications at Sierra Club Canada. “That means Equinor is actively fighting against Canadian climate policies aimed at getting fair emissions reductions from our largest polluters. Because Equinor is a majority state-owned company this also means the Norwegian government is actively undermining Canada’s domestic climate policies.”
Ironically, under the emissions cap policy offshore oil operators could even be able to make money selling carbon credits to bigger polluting oil and gas projects in Canada like the oil sands.
A fair cap on emissions from oil and gas, at the same level as Canada’s national climate target (45% below 2005 levels by 2030), would avoid the premature deaths of approximately 4,860 people in Canada over a decade, and come with economic benefit of CAD $45.1 billion, according to an analysis from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), this is before considering the climate change and non-fatal impacts of the air pollution prevented by a strong cap.
This is a press release from Sierra Club Canada. Media contact: Media@sierraclub.ca.
Read more about the campaign to stop Equinor's giant field: Bay du Nord