The draft regulations on grid carbon neutrality presented by Ottawa on Thursday do not mandate the use of specific technologies.
Instead, the federal government wants to set a performance standard for greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation.
“This technology-neutral approach allows decision-makers at the provincial, territorial and local levels to determine, based on their reality, the best path to transition to a clean grid,” reads the background information on the draft regulation.
With the performance standard, the government expects to save 342 megatons of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions between 2024 and 2050.
This was announced by Environment Secretary Steven Guilbeault draft regulation during a press conference in Toronto.
Consultations are to take place on the proposed roadmap and a final regulation is then to be presented by next year, with entry into force in 2035 at the earliest.
A zero-carbon power grid is an essential part of meeting Canada’s overall climate goals because without clean power, vehicles like zero-emission vehicles continue to generate greenhouse gases from the energy they use.
The country’s electricity grid is already nearly 85% clean, but demand is expected to double by 2050 as cars, buses and trains go electric.
In the last federal budget, the Liberals provided over 45 billion US dollars for the construction of a clean electricity grid.
To see in the video
Extreme problem solver. Professional web practitioner. Devoted pop culture enthusiast. Evil tv fan.