Canada’s Clean Fuel Standard is likely to be published Friday, kicking off a comment period ahead of the standard becoming law. For a what-we-know and what-we-don’t discussion, we go to Marla Orenstein, of the Canada West Foundation, on this RealAg LIVE! Q&A.
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SUMMARY
- Who is the Canada West Foundation?
- CWF has put out a report on the “Citizen’s Guide to the Clean Fuel Standard”
- Lower greenhouse gas emissions, lower the carbon intensity of the fuel we use
- Carbon tax vs. Clean Fuel Standard. They are different!
- Carbon tax is about sticker shock to change behaviour.
- CFS is about changing the fuel before it gets to the consumption
- Low fat pizza. Gross.
- What sectors like it vs are not so good with it?
- Well, the changes to the CFS announced last week will make some industries happier than others. So mining, etc., are a little happier.
- CFS is now just focused on diesel and gas, liquids. More in-line with places like California. Increased 2 to 4 cents only (though likely to be more here in Canada)
- But the government hasn’t let us “peek under the hood”
- Gazette this Friday? Maybe.
- So what IS it going to cost? As high as 11 cents per litre, just from the CFS (not the carbon tax), but could be more like 5 to 7 cents/litre
- Will pumps have to change for E15?
- There will be a national infrastructure assessment
- Who comes out ahead? Biofuel manufacturers, for sure. Ethanol and biodiesel. Hydrogen and renewable natural gas will likely not benefit as much as they could have.
- Do farmers win? Well…
- Land-use requirements. Devil is in the details.
- Feds have eased up on land-use requirements, so that’s probably good news for farmers for corn and canola
- Marker year. Why does it matter? Ultimate objective is to make changes to reach this goal, but not at all costs (other aspects of the environment)
- Who wins? re: crops. There aren’t restrictions on feed stocks, yet.
- Is the energy industry coming around to this? The silence has been deafening.
- Carbon price at $170 per tonne by 2030 adds some certainty
- But does that price of carbon bring investment back to energy sector? Dig deeper.
- Electric or hydrogen vehicles? Where do they fit?
- Can farmers offer carbon credits? We don’t know.
- Unintended consequences: breaking a criminal law
- Food vs. fuel discussion. Will people go hungry because of a fuel standard? Likely not.
- And, capacity. Are we there?
- Does this set the stage for carbon tariffs? YES. Likely.
- We also do need to know the numbers. Let us see the numbers.
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Canadian Agriculture Policy / Carbon tax / Clean Fuel Standard / Features / Podcasts / RealAg LIVE! / Video
