The federal government has moved forward with planned regulations that are expected to require an average renewable fuel content of five per cent in gasoline by September.
Its proposed regulations have been officially published in the April 10 edition of the Canada Gazette, after which comes a 60-day formal public comment period before the final regulations come into force, expected by September.
“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,” Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in a release last week.
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“The proposal will reduce emissions as much as taking one million cars off the road, while expanding the market for corn and wheat producers,” Grain Growers of Canada president Doug Robertson said in a separate release Thursday.
“This is smart policy that will create jobs for Canadians, increase opportunities for our farmers and make our transportation industry more environmentally friendly.”
The government said it plans to work “in close consultation” with the provinces and territories, the fuel industries and other stakeholders as it finalizes the regulations.
Need fast track
The gazetted regulations only cover biofuel content in gasoline, but the government last week reiterated its support for the National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative, which involves further testing on the use of biodiesel for its “technical feasibility” under a range of Canadian conditions.
“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,” federal Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis said in the release.
The GCC’s Robertson, who farms at Carstairs, Alta., said farmers “also need to see any further consultations on biodiesel fast-tracked to also get those regulations in place.
“There is a short window for financing the processing plants and we can’t afford to wait much longer.”
The government last week also announced it’s setting up “stringent regulated standards” to tighten limits for greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and light trucks over the 2011 to 2016 model years.
In a release April 1, the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, whose members include Ford, GM, Chrysler and Navistar Canada, hailed the government’s commitment to vehicle standards that are “fully aligned with the national standards also finalized in the U.S. today.”
In effect, the CVMA said, “this creates a single continental approach to vehicle-related GHG emissions.”
CVMA president Mark Nantais said adoption of a single national standard allows advanced technologies to be introduced “faster, more efficiently, and with greater penetration across Canada by making these technologies more affordable without restricting vehicle choice.”
