The federal government has targeted gas tanks in the fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Federal environmental minister Jim Prentice finalized new regulations Wednesday morning that will require gasoline to have 5% renewable fuel content by December 15 of this year.
Prentice said, “Regulating renewable fuel content in gasoline is just one of several steps the government is taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector, which account for about a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions.”
The regulations are part of the government’s renewable fuels strategy, and also require all diesel fuel and heating oil to have 2% renewable content.
The regulations are expected to take four megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions out of the air by 2012, the equivalent of taking one million cars off the road.
“Our government supports biofuels and other alternative fuels as part of our commitment to reducing Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 17%, from 2005 levels, by 2020,” added Minister of Natural Resources Christian Paradis.
The regulations could be good news for local biodiesel producers such as Canadian Bioenergy Corp. and Lignol Energy Corp. (TSX-V:LEC) which have been waiting for government direction for some time (See “Seeds of fuel controversy growing” – issue 979; July 29 – August 4, 2008).