Canada’s Clean Electricity Regulations: Striving for a Greener Tomorrow

On December 17, Canada announced new Clean Electricity Regulations aimed at achieving a net-zero electricity grid by 2050. This is a slower approach than the previous goal to have an emissions-neutral grid by 2035. Some provinces and energy companies expressed concerns that the draft rules might make electricity less reliable and more expensive.

Canada already gets 85% of its electricity from clean sources like hydropower, wind, and solar power. However, the new, less strict regulations might make it tougher for the country to meet its 2035 goal of reducing carbon emissions by 45–50% compared to 2005 levels.

Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Natural Resources Minister, explained, “We haven’t lowered our aims for cleaning the grid, but we’ve learned that we need to be flexible. We want to reduce emissions while also ensuring the grid remains reliable and affordable for everyone.”

The final regulations are set to reduce carbon emissions from the electricity grid by almost 181 megatonnes from 2024 to 2050. In contrast, the draft regulations had aimed for a reduction of 342 megatonnes. Also, the limit on emissions from power plants was raised from 30 tonnes to 65 tonnes of carbon per gigawatt-hour.

Power plants that make electricity but do not connect to the grid, including some run by oil sands companies in northern Alberta, will not be affected by these regulations. Alberta, Canada’s main oil and gas-producing province, opposed the initial draft regulations, saying they could threaten grid reliability.