Smith Decries Ottawa’s ‘Shut-In’ Emissions Reduction Policies Ahead of Meetings

OTTAWA—Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the federal government’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets amount to a “shut-in policy” for her province’s energy sector, adding she hopes her meetings in Ottawa this week will be collaborative. “When you have an unachievable and unrealistic time frame, it’s not an emissions reduction policy, it’s a shut-in policy,” Ms. Smith told reporters during a Feb. 5 press conference in Ottawa. “It’s a policy demand that would require us to shut in our production, and we’re just simply not going to do that.” Ottawa’s cap on greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas industry aims to cut emissions in the sector by at least one-third by 2030 as part of its goal to reach net-zero status by 2050. The regulations will be in the form of a cap-and-trade system to allow companies to buy offset credits or contribute to a “decarbonization fund” that lowers the reduction requirement to 20 to 23 percent....