The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) on Thursday urged the country’s Competition Bureau to make changes to anti-greenwashing legislation passed earlier this year, and repeated calls for recent amendments to the law to be scrapped entirely.
Context
The Competition Bureau is developing guidance on how companies should interpret recent changes to Canada’s Competition Act after backlash from the oil and gas sector.
In June the Pathways Alliance, representing Canada’s biggest oil sands producers, and a number of oil and gas companies removed online content about environmental goals, citing “significant uncertainty” over Ottawa’s new anti-greenwashing legislation.
The amendments to the Competition Act require companies to show proof of their environmental claims, but the fossil fuel industry says it carries the threat of significant penalties while not offering clarity on how to comply.
Why it’s important
Canada is the world’s fourth-largest crude producer. The federal government is pushing the oil and gas sector, the country’s highest-polluting industry, to cut emissions that have climbed in recent years.
The industry has proposed solutions including carbon capture and storage to reduce its environmental impact, but most companies are yet to reach final investment decisions. Some environmental advocates have said the industry is not fully committed to climate action.
Quotes
“The federal government’s approach to these amendments have introduced a new level of complexity and risk for those looking to invest in Canada,” said CAPP President Lisa Baiton in a statement.
“We are unconvinced that any guidance brought forward by the Competition Bureau can provide Canadian businesses with the confidence to openly discuss their environmental goals and progress.”
What’s next
In its submission to the Competition Bureau CAPP offered recommendations on how to improve the legislation, such as ensuring the new rules applied equally across all industries and a better definition of how companies’ environmental claims will be assessed.
Pathways Alliance said in a statement it also intends to participate in the consultations and is developing a submission.
The deadline for submissions is the end of September.
($1 = 1.3509 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Deepa Babington)
