U.S. Coal Regulation Puts Pressure on Canadian Oil and Gas

By positioning the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, the new EPA rule puts new pressure on Canada to regulate its oil and gas sector, Munson reports. Both countries committed to the 17% target at the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009. “The U.S. coal industry, despite producing a lot more emissions, is often compared to the Canadian oil and gas sector because of the political and economic clout each industry has in their respective countries,” he writes. “The fact that the EPA, with the support and direction of the president, is taking on that country’s chief obstacle to climate change policy lends ammunition to those who criticize the Harper government’s decision not to regulate the oil and gas sector’s emissions here.”