Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Canadian Gas Association (CGA) demonstrates negative engagement on climate policies with limited top-line communication on climate action. The association advocates for increased production of fossil gas in Canada and appears unsupportive of ambitious energy transition pathways.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: CGA has very limited top-line messaging around climate policies. The association has not acknowledged the IPCC science on climate change and has not provided a clear position on Canada’s net-zero targets. In addition, InfluenceMap could not find any evidence of CGA's position on the Paris Agreement in the website. While the company has disclosed engagement on carbon pricing in the Federal Lobbyist Registry in March 2023, it has not provided a position on it.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policies: CGA has limited engagement on climate-related legislation and regulation. The association has disclosed engagement in support of energy efficiency policy in Federal Lobbyist Registry. However, CGA has advocated to weaken Canada’s Oil and Gas Emissions Cap by recommending excluding Scope 3 emissions from the policy in the submission to the federal Standing Committee on Natural Resources in March 2022.
Positioning on Energy Transition: CGA appears unsupportive of the transition to a clean energy mix and advocates for an increased role for fossil gas in the energy mix – in contrast to IPCC guidance recommending a substantial reduction in fossil fuel consumption to meet the 1.5 degree Celsius goal.
CGA frequently advocates to increase fossil gas production in Canada, often through letters sent to the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by CGA President Timothy Egan. In April and January 2024, Egan sent letters advocating for increased fossil gas production in Canada. In a similar letter from May 2022, CGA stated that use of Canada’s “cleaner” fossil could significantly reduce global GHG emissions. In this letter, CGA has disclosed its engagement with EU policymakers to push for fossil gas production.
The association also appears unsupportive of decarbonization policies. In the testimony to a pre-budget consultation in November 2023, CGA pushed for a weaker Investment Tax Credit for Clean Hydrogen by advocating for the inclusion of fossil gas-derived hydrogen in the policy. Its registration in the Federal Lobbyist Registry in February 2024 revealed that it had advocated for tax and fiscal measures to support the adoption of fossil gas engines and vehicles in Canada. In a September 2022 response to Canada's Green Building Strategy paper, the association advocated for fossil gas infrastructure in buildings.
There is positive advocacy by the CGA on renewable natural gas (RNG). In the November 2023 testimony to the government, CGA advocated for the introduction of an Investment Tax Credit for RNG, referencing support for RNG produced from landfills and waste-water plants.
This summary was last updated in Q2 2024.