Canada finalizes Clean Fuel Regulations
29 July 2022
Canada published the final Clean Fuel Regulations (SOR/2022-140) on July 6, 2022. The regulations require fuel suppliers, including producers and importers, to gradually reduce the carbon intensity of the liquid fossil fuels—gasoline and diesel—they produce and import into Canada.
The reductions in carbon intensity are to be achieved from 2023 through 2030, Table 1.
| Liquid Fossil Fuel | Baseline | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline | 95 | 91.5 | 90.0 | 88.5 | 87.0 | 85.5 | 84.0 | 82.5 | 81.0 |
| Diesel | 93 | 89.5 | 88.0 | 86.5 | 85.0 | 83.5 | 82.0 | 80.5 | 79.0 |
Exempted from the regulation are fuels that are (1) aviation gasoline, (2) exported from Canada, (3) used for scientific research, and (4) intended for vehicles used exclusively for competition.
To comply with the regulation, fuel suppliers must earn compliance credits that can be created in a number of ways. Examples include undertaking projects to reduce life cycle carbon intensity of fuels (e.g., carbon capture and storage, renewable electricity, etc.) or supplying low carbon fuels (e.g., ethanol or biodiesel).
There are a number of differences between the final regulations and the December 2020 proposal: the initial compliance date has been delayed from 2022 to 2023; the final carbon intensity limits are more stringent; the regulations apply only to gasoline and diesel, while the proposal additionally covered kerosene, fuel oil, and jet fuel.
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada