Toronto – Ottawa Proceeding with Regulation of Renewable Content of Gasoline

April 1, 2010

Today, Environment Canada cleared some of the fuzz surrounding federal renewable fuel regulations by announcing its intention to move forward with the regulatory phase. The full press release from Environment Canada is reproduced below.

CIPMA welcomes this announcement after 10 months of silence on the matter. However, the details of the regulation are yet to be released, leaving the petroleum products industry in an untenable state of uncertainty for a September 2010 compliance date.

CIPMA will be working with Environment Canada officials during the 60 day consultation period following the publication of proposed regulations in Canada Gazette Part 1.

News Release

Government of Canada Moving Forward with Commitment to Regulate Renewable Content in Gasoline

OTTAWA, Ont. — April 1, 2010 — The Government of Canada today announced that it is moving forward with proposed regulations that will require an average renewable fuel content of five per cent in gasoline by September 2010.

“We are fulfilling the commitment we made in 2006 to regulate renewable fuel content in gasoline and have developed draft regulations following consultations with industry, provinces and stakeholders,” said the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment. “This is further action from the Government of Canada to reduce emissions from the transportation sector, which accounts for about one quarter of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.”

“Increasing the use of renewable fuel is an important part of the commitment we have made to farmers and rural communities,” said the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture. “This regulation will provide the certainty needed for the renewable fuels industry to make investments that will create new jobs and provide new market opportunities for farmers.”

When fully implemented, the Strategy’s two regulatory requirements combined with provincial regulations will ensure a total volume of renewable fuel that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to about four megatonnes per year- about the equivalent of taking one million vehicles off the road.

The proposed regulations will be published in Canada Gazette Part I in the near future. Following a 60-day formal public comment period, final regulations will come into force by September of 2010. The Government will continue to work in close consultation with the provinces and territories, renewable fuels and petroleum industries and other key stakeholders as we finalize the regulation.

The proposed regulations are part of the Government’s broader Renewable Fuels Strategy. Under this Strategy, the Government is also supporting the National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative which involves further testing on the use of biodiesel to determine the technical feasibility of renewable diesel under a range of Canadian conditions.

“By using renewable fuels, Canadians will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a cleaner environment,” said the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources. “We are working closely with industry partners to plan for the integration of renewable diesel in the Canadian fuel market, pending successful results from demonstration projects and infrastructure related studies.”

The proposed regulations are a key initiative in support of the Government of Canada’s commitment to reduce Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, a target which reflects the importance of aligning with the U.S. In addition, the Government of Canada is also establishing stringent regulated standards to progressively tighten limits for greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and light trucks over the 2011 to 2016 model years.

For more information, please contact:

Environment Canada

Frédéric Baril
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
819-997-1441

Environment Canada Media Relations

819-934-8008
1-888-908-8008

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Meagan Murdoch
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Gerry Ritz
613-773-1059

Media Relations
613-773-7972
1-866-345-7972

Natural Resources Canada

Margaux Stastny
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister
Natural Resources Canada
613-996-2007

Media Relations
613-992-4447

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CIPMA is the proud host of the Canadian Fuel Marketing Conference. The next conference will be in Toronto April 10-12, 2017. The CIPMA Golf Challenge is held in September. Both are all-industry events open to members and non-members alike and offer marketers, suppliers and other stakeholders the chance to network.

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