Is Alberta doing enough? A critical evaluation of the specified gas emitters regulation

Abstract

Alberta is the province with largest greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Coal-based electricity generation and oil and gas production in Alberta accounted for 62% of the province's 249 Mt carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions in 2012. As part of a series of climate change adaptation measures, the Government of Alberta instituted an energy intensity-based carbon regulation, Specified Gas Emitters Regulation (SGER), in 2007. The policy is considered to be unique in the wold. It comprises market-oriented trading schemes and regulatory framework with caps on price and quantity of carbon. As the Government of Alberta aggressively pursues new markets and the economy continues to grow, the corresponding emission levels will inevitably rise. No succession plan has yet been outlined for when the SGER is retired in June 2015. Few studies have examined the impact of SGER as a carbon reducing policy instrument; however, a number of scholarly works have been published on the subject of intensity-based carbon policies. The research presents a critical evaluation of Alberta's flagship climate change policy. Using mixed-methods research to examine the compliance options in SGER, the research concludes that the regulation is far from adequate as a climate change policy instrument for the Province of Alberta.