Natural gas remains a…

Natural gas remains a critical resource for hard-to-abate, energy-intensive industries and to the Government’s pro-growth agenda that aims to attract billions of dollars' worth of investments and tens of thousands of manufacturing and agricultural jobs to the province. As the province aims to meet the increasing energy demands from those investments while decarbonizing the economy, CCS stands out as a practical solution that helps manufacturers to invest and expand in the province while reducing emissions, and as an entirely new industry that attracts more investments and creates more jobs for Ontarians.
The introduction of Bill 228 Resource Management and Safety Act, 2024 and the proposed Geologic Carbon Storage Act (The Act), along with forthcoming regulations, must enable the affordable, safe, responsible, and permanent storage of carbon dioxide providing a technology ready emissions reduction tool for hard-to-abate industries in Ontario.
Key Recommendations
1. Regulations regarding the acquisition of pore space and any resulting compensation provides fairness for rights holders while not further exacerbating transaction costs for heavy emitters and the administrative burdens for CCS proponents causing extensive project delays.
2. Leverage a merit-based RFP type process and a common call for projects, for both single emitter and commercial-scale, to evaluate overlapping and competing projects at the same time. Awarding projects based on a robust evaluation and screening process provides transparency needed to garner municipal and public endorsement.
3. The Carbon Storage Stewardship Fund fee structure should provide the public with a reasonable degree of confidence that Ontario will have sufficient funding to support the transfer of long-term liability for sequestered CO2 without unduly impacting the economics of CCS projects.
4. Ontario leverages a whole-of-government approach to revise and update related amendments required to enable commercial-scale geologic carbon storage across capture, transportation, and storage. These include the Geologic Carbon Storage Act, the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act, the Mining Act, the Emissions Performance Standard, and subsequent regulations under these acts.