Clean fuel bar would boost jobs: think tank

Panel estimates up to 31,000 created by 2030

OTTAWA • A new report has found the federal government’s proposed clean fuel standard will likely create j obs and drive economic growth, though it will come at a cost to households.

In a report Wednesday, Clean Energy Canada, a Vancouver- based environmental t hink t ank, estimates t he f uel standard could create up to 31,000 new jobs by 2030, mostly in the construction and operation of clean fuel facilities.

The report also finds that the average household will spend $ 5 more per month with a clean fuel standard in place by 2030. An energy-conscious household — for instance, a family living in an energy- efficient home with an electric car — only stands to pay an extra $ 2 per month, according to the report.

Jeremy Moorhouse, a senior analyst at Clean Energy Canada, said the price of gas at the pump will likely be 1.5 cents per litre higher in 2025 and five cents per litre higher in 2030 than it would be without the clean fuel standard.

But overall, he added, Canadians will l i kely be paying 13 per cent less on driving in 2030 than they do today, thanks to energy efficiency regulations. The average household is also expected to pay $17 per month less in 2030 than in 2015 due to efficiency measures, even with the new standard in place, the report finds.

The clean fuel standard was announced as part of the federal government’s Pan-Canadian climate change framework last year. The measure is supposed to cut carbon emissions by 30 million tonnes annually as of 2030, by requiring a reduction in the carbon intensity of fuel in transportation, homes and industry. Ottawa has yet to release a framework for the new standard.

“It’s a big policy from a greenhouse- gas perspective,” said Moorhouse, calli ng it “the single l argest policy in the Pan- Canadian framework.”

The report finds that a clean fuel standard could create $ 5.6 billion in economic activity in clean fuels, and could double the number of biofuel plants across the country.

It also estimates there would be 1.2 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030 with the measure in place.

Not every sector of the economy stands to gain from the new standard. Jobs will likely be lost in refining, mechanics and new vehicle manufacturing, Moorhouse said.

On balance, the report finds the clean fuel standard will likely increase net employment by 11,000 to 17,000 jobs by 2030.

The federal government has suggested t he clean fuel standard might require a 10- to 15- per- cent reduction in the carbon intensity of fuels used in vehicles, homes and industry.

To meet the 30- milliontonne target by 2030, Clean Energy Canada recommends that the government require a 10- per- cent carbon intensity reduction in the transportation sector from 2015 levels, and either a 3.5- per- cent reduction for buildings and industry, or a five-per-cent renewable natural gas mandate.

Meeting the fuel standard would double biofuel production in Canada, Moorhouse said, largely through ethanol an db io diesel, which can be blended with gasoline and diesel. “We think those are probably the most cost- competitive right now,” he said.

But he said producing additional ethanol f rom corn and wheat would not entail a major expansion of agricultural operations, as it would only represent threeper- cent growth of North American production.

Moorhouse said the clean fuel standard is a major piece of the government’s plan to reduce emissions, as a carbon tax on its own is unlikely to drive major emissions cuts in the transportation sector.

“It’s critical to reduce carbon emissions from fuels to hit the 2030 Paris commitments,” he said.

But others have voiced concern that the standard will drive up fuel costs dramatically, and have suggested the measure is “yet another carbon tax.”

THE SINGLE LARGEST POLICY IN THE PAN-CANADIAN FRAMEWORK.