The Government of Canada plans to put in place Clean Fuel Standard Regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Clean Fuel Standard will require liquid fuel (gasoline, diesel, home heating oil) suppliers to gradually reduce the carbon intensity of the fuels they produce and sell for use in Canada over time, leading to a decrease of approximately 13% (below 2016 levels) in the carbon intensity of our liquid fuels used in Canada by 2030.

It aims to achieve annual GHG emission reductions of 30 Mt by 2030 and will cover all fossil fuels (but with separate requirements for liquid, gaseous and solid fuels). The regulations for the liquid fuel class will be the first regulation published, and are expected to come into force in 2022.

The Clean Fuel Standard is a performance-based approach. It is designed to incentivize innovation and adoption of clean technologies and expand the use of low carbon fuels. It aims to open possibilities for industries to innovate and adopt cleaner technologies to lower their compliance costs.