Canada is set to introduce a tax credit for carbon capture investments, a critical step to cut greenhouse-gas emissions from the oil sands and will shortly lay out its 2030 pollution reduction goals.
According to Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada's natural resource minister, the tax credit will likely be included in the upcoming budget. A goal of cutting emissions 40% to 45% below 2005 levels will also be detailed by March.
Oil sands businesses have estimated that removing carbon emissions from their operations will cost C$75 billion ($60 billion), with carbon capture projects accounting for up to two-thirds of the funding provided by the government.
According to Wilkinson, the tax incentive would be identical to that provided in the United States. Carbon capture that is used to promote oil output, known as enhanced oil recovery, would be excluded from the credit.
To fulfill Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's campaign promise, the government also plans to announce a restriction on emissions from oil and gas operations as soon as this year
The oil sands industry has already set a maximum on emissions of 100 megatons, which is significantly higher than current levels, but the federal government will decrease it to around current levels and steadily reduce it, added the minister.
