EDF Statement: Methane equivalency agreement-in-principle between Canada and Alberta shows progress pending important details

(Ottawa, ON)  EDF Senior Campaign Manager Ari Pottens issued the following statement today regarding the Carney government and Alberta reaching an agreement-in-principle on implementing federal methane emission regulations in the nation’s highest-producing province. The agreement-in-principle builds on the November Memorandum of Understanding between Canada and Alberta. 

“Continued progress on reducing methane emissions is vital for Canada’s energy exports, climate goals, and economic future, and while the agreement-in-principle shows progress, its success will ultimately be determined by important details which are still pending. 

It is critical to the effectiveness of Canada’s methane regulations that Alberta is held to the 72% methane emissions reduction target by 2030 from 2012 levels that the federal government finalized in its methane regulations in December and that the third party approach outlined in today's announcement follow a credible, science-based approach to emissions measurement and reductions.” 

Background: A recent analysis by EDF found that giving Alberta a five-year extension on meeting its reduction targets will make the regulations 36% less effective at mitigating methane emissions and waste up to $530 million, making it crucial that the final equivalency agreement hold Alberta to the 2030 target as well.  

In December, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature Julie Dabrusin told CBC News that the 75% by 2035 target is in addition to the 72% by 2030 target, but the current agreement-in-principle lacks details on how the government will ensure compliance with the 2030 target.  

Since the regulations were first announced in 2021, oil and gas operators in Canada have wasted over $2.3 billion CAD of natural gas due to inefficient production methods. Strong federal methane regulations with consistent enforcement across all provinces would lead to this gas being captured and sold, generating tax and royalty revenue to Canadians. 

EDF analysis from October 2025 determined that implementing the then-proposed regulations would create approximately 34,000 total jobs between 2027 and 2040, due to the equipment and services needed to cut methane emissions, The jobs would be distributed roughly evenly between the energy-producing provinces in the west and the industrial manufacturing provinces in the east. 

Strong methane rules enjoy broad public support from Canadians. A November 2025 poll from Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment shows that nearly two-thirds of Canadians (64.5%) want to see action on methane and that almost 80% of NDP/Liberal swing voters are supportive of methane regulation.