Climate and Emissions

In 2020, Canada’s oil and natural gas industry developed eight climate positions to enable effective climate solutions through innovation, collaboration, and globally competitive strategies to meet the challenge of global climate change.

Flaring and venting involve the release of gases including carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. These releases may be necessary as part of safe operations. Strict provincial and federal standards regulate flaring and venting, resulting in reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from upstream production.

Reducing GHG emissions is a global challenge, and Canada’s oil and natural gas industry is committed to decreasing GHG emissions generated for each barrel of oil and cubic metre of natural gas produced. The challenge: to reduce GHG emissions while meeting the growing demand for energy in Canada and globally.

Methane is the main component of natural gas. By volume, global methane emissions are lower than carbon dioxide emissions. However, methane is more potent in its ability to trap heat in the atmosphere, so it’s important to identify methane emissions and take action to prevent or reduce these emissions.

The process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂), and storing the captured CO₂ in underground rock formations, is called carbon capture and storage (CCS). If the captured CO₂ is used in enhanced oil recovery or other processes that permanently remove the CO₂ from the atmosphere, the process is called carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).