THE ELECTION: Greenhouse Gases

Tories eye nationwide standards for ethanol, biodiesel
By CAMPBELL CLARK

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Page A10

OTTAWA -- The federal Conservatives will unveil a plan to set a national standard requiring all of the country's fuel to contain at least 5 per cent renewable fuels such as ethanol by 2010, so that gas pumped into cars and trucks would include some fuel made from organic products.

The pledge, to be announced tomorrow, would be aimed at cutting Canada's greenhouse-gas emissions by four million tons a year by mixing gasoline with cleaner-burning ethanol, or using more biodiesel, which blends vegetable oils with diesel fuel.

It also allows the federal Conservatives to take the election campaign initiative on an environmental plank. The federal Liberals have not moved to a national standard for renewable fuel even though three provinces have already announced they will adopt them.

"This 5-per-cent standard for renewable fuels is good for agriculture and rural Canadians, it's good for the environment and it's good for drivers," said Conservative MP Diane Finley, the party's agriculture critic. "Specifically, it'll mean a four-megaton-a-year reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions."

The Conservatives have not supported the Kyoto accord on cutting greenhouse gas emissions but argue that a renewable-fuel standard would be part of their pledge to create a "made-in-Canada strategy" to reduce emissions that cause global warming.

"It's a good first step. If we look at the Liberal record, they've actually been increasing emissions instead of reducing them as they promised," Ms. Finley said. "What we're proposing is something very tangible, with a definite timeline."

The Liberal government struck a fuel-efficiency pact with Canada's auto sector in April, which targeted a 5.3-million-tonne reduction in greenhouse gases by 2010. But that pact is voluntary. Ottawa must cut 270 megatonnes of emissions from 2003 levels by 2012 to meet the Kyoto accord targets.

Ms. Finley said a 5-per-cent standard for renewable fuel will also mean increased demand for Canadian crops, notably starch crops like corn or sweet potatoes for ethanol and oilseeds for biodiesel. It could also mean substantial private-sector investment in ethanol and biodiesel plants.

Most Canadian ethanol, which produces 30 to 40 per cent less greenhouse gas when burned, is made from corn. Cleaner-burning cellulose ethanol, which comes from the non-food portion of crops (straw, stalks and cobs) produces 80 per cent less greenhouse gas.

Biodiesel products, which are made from vegetable and animal fats for blending with diesel fuel, also cut emissions and can be used in heavier vehicles like buses and trucks.

Three provinces -- Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba -- have already announced that they will move to renewable fuel standards in coming years. In September, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty pledged to require gasoline sold in that province to be at least 5 per cent ethanol by 2007, and 10 per cent by 2010.

That move in the country's largest market prompted Canada's oil producers, who have opposed mandatory ethanol standards, to ask federal politicians earlier this month to create a national standard so that they are not faced with a patchwork of regulations across the country.

So far, the Liberal government has not set forth any such standard, but has announced a $100-million "ethanol expansion program" of grants to encourage ethanol production in Canada. "You can build plants, but there's no requirement for anybody to use the product," said Jeff Passmore, executive vice-president of cellulose ethanol producer Iogen Corp.

The Canadian Renewable Fuel Association has called for a 5-per-cent average mix of ethanol and biodiesel by 2010. Less than 1 per cent of Canada's fuel is renewable right now, according to the association.

Several jurisdictions around the world, including the European Union, appear to be moving toward renewable-fuel standards. A U.S. initiative signed into law in August requires that twice as much ethanol be used by 2012.

California , which has relatively strict vehicle-emissions standards, already has an ethanol standard of 10 per cent for gasoline.