Clean Energy Canada | Letter in support of a national clean fuel standard for Canada
November 18, 2016

The Honourable Catherine McKenna Minister of Environment and Climate Change

The Honourable Jim Carr Minister of Natural Resources

The Honourable Marc Garneau Minister of Transport

The Honourable Navdeep Bains
Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Dear Ministers,

We the undersigned support a national Clean Fuels Standard as a key element of a pan-Canadian clean growth and climate action plan.

Transportation emissions represent a significant fraction of Canada’s climate challenge. Meeting Canada’s 2030 emission reduction target, and making deeper reductions thereafter, will require adopting mechanisms that have been proven to address transportation’s specific challenges.

Clean fuels standards require fuel suppliers to reduce the carbon intensity of their fuels over time. These standards measure the full lifecycle of carbon emissions from both fossil fuels and alternatives such as renewable fuels, hydrogen and electricity. Clean fuels standards use market mechanisms to allow flexibility that reward the developers and producers of low carbon fuels and transportation. Their technology-neutral structure contributes to their overall cost effectiveness.

Both California and British Columbia adopted clean fuels standards in 2010, complementing existing renewable fuels standards. Both jurisdictions describe their clean fuels policies as being amongst their most effective climate action policies. The state of Oregon implemented a clean fuels standard in 2016.

The technologies we need to make significant carbon reductions exist today. Companies can meet clean fuel standard goals with lower carbon fuels that can be blended into, or replace, gasoline or diesel; through the electrification of transportation; the use of hydrogen fuel cells; or through innovations that reduce emissions in the production and processing of fossil fuels. Clean fuels standards help ensure widespread and rapid deployment of these cleaner technologies.

Clean fuels standards also contribute to better air quality, as they reduce emissions of the toxins found in gasoline and diesel from both personal and commercial fuel use.

In a world that is inexorably moving towards lower-carbon solutions, investing in clean fuels production helps maintain and build Canada’s global competitiveness. Canada has the abundant resources needed to realize the economic benefits of producing clean fuels domestically, and the technical knowhow to scale them up.

We the undersigned strongly recommend that Canada establish a stringent clean fuels standard to provide a long term, predictable innovation and cleantech growth signal to both clean fuels producers and to fossil fuel producers. We look forward to supporting your efforts and to communicating with Canadians about the benefits of clean fuels.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the organizations and individuals undersigned,

Merran Smith, Clean Energy Canada

Ian Thomson, Advanced Biofuels Canada

Advanced Biofuels Canada
Archer Daniels Midland
Canadian Biogas Association
Canadian Climate Forum
Canadian Gas Association
Canadian Propane Association
Canfor Pulp Products Inc.
Clean Energy Canada
David Suzuki Foundation
Enerkem Inc.
Ensyn Corporation
Environmental Defence Canada
Équiterre
Forest Products Association of Canada
Innoltek Inc.
Iogen Corporation
Pembina Institute
Renewable Energy Group Inc.

Dr. Jonn Axsen, Associate Professor & Director, Sustainable Transportation Action Research Team (START), School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University

Dr. Mark Jaccard, FRSC University Professor, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University

Dr. Warren Mabee, Associate Professor, Director, Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy,
Queens University

Dr. Jack Saddler, FRSC Professor of Forest Products Biotechnology, University of British Columbia / IEA Bioenergy