By Nia Williams
(Reuters) -Canada’s main oil-producing province Alberta on Wednesday released a climate plan aimed at reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but did not announce any interim targets in a move that puts it at odds with the federal government.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has targeted a 40-45% cut in emissions by 2030 and will need to see major reductions from Alberta, the country’s highest-polluting province and the centre of the fossil fuel industry.
Alberta Environment Minister Sonya Savage said the province is working on developing sector-specific emissions reduction targets but did not want impose interim goals that were unrealistic, and singled out Ottawa’s 2030 goal of a 42% cut in oil and gas emissions.
“That’s a random target attached to a random date,” Savage told a news conference in Calgary. “Before we regulate or impose limits on specific industries and interim targets there’s more work to be done. We have to see what’s achievable.”
The climate plan focused on areas including carbon capture utilization and storage, clean electricity and tougher methane regulations.
Savage said Alberta is also exploring lowering a provincial cap on oil sands emissions from the current 100 megatonne limit.
(Reporting by Nia Williams in British ColumbiaEditing by Marguerita Choy)
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