The Challenge of Managing Carbon Emissions in Saskatchewan's Mining and Mineral Sector

Abstract

The global consensus reached in the Paris Agreement is that governments and industry need to reduce the carbon footprint and "to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments necessary for a sustainable low carbon future." According to the national climate action plan that Canada submitted in relation to the agreement, "Canada intends to achieve an economy-wide target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030." Various countries are adopting distinct strategies to achieve their national goals, and Canadian provinces, which have different prospects from one another, have likewise signalled plans to pursue distinct strategies. The federal government must recognize provinces' diverse needs and opportunities as it creates policies to honour its commitments under the Paris Agreement. Recognizing Saskatchewan has unique challenges as a hub of uranium and potash production, a group of Saskatchewan's experts gathered in early June 2016 to explore the issue. Operating under the Chatham House Rule, they included representatives from the Saskatchewan Ministries of the Economy and the Environment, Cameco, Potash Corp, the Saskatchewan Mining Association, and the International Minerals Innovation Institute, along with academics from economics and public policy. They examined Saskatchewan's mining and minerals sector and carbon management challenges, and made a series of observations about policy choices available as input to federal government national carbon mitigation plan deliberations.