Manitoba increases biodiesel blend requirement, penalties for noncompliance

The Manitoba government continues to keep its promises and act on targets set out in the Manitoba Climate and Green Plan with the adoption of new blend requirements for ethanol in gasoline and for biodiesel in diesel, moving the province closer to meeting greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets, Sarah Guillemard, Conservation and Climate Minister, announced in late December.

“We are taking the steps necessary to meet our GHG reduction targets, and have extensively worked with and consulted stakeholders,” Guillemard said. “We are leading the nation with our creation of a cumulative GHG reduction goal as part of our carbon savings account—a made-in-Manitoba solution to address climate change in our province.”

Effective Jan. 1, 2021, the amount of ethanol required in gasoline will increase to 9.25 percent from 8.5 percent. It will further grow to 10 percent on Jan. 1, 2022. The biodiesel requirement will increase to 3.5 percent from 2 percent on Jan. 1, 2021, and will rise again to 5 percent on Jan. 1, 2022.

These increases were identified in the 2017 Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan and were recommended by the Expert Advisory Council for the plan in 2019. Increased biofuels blending is a key government commitment aimed at reducing emissions in the transportation sector, which currently accounts for 40 percent of all emissions in Manitoba. The increases also reflect industry requests for incremental changes in order to enable a seamless transition to the use of more low carbon fuels across the province.

In addition, other amendments will help fulfil the government’s commitments to streamline regulations and to reduce the burden on businesses. The changes include an increase to the penalty for noncompliance with the new biodiesel standards.

These amendments are expected to account for about 10 percent of Manitoba’s one-megatonne target for the first carbon savings account for the period ending in 2022. Over time, they will result in yearly reductions of approximately 220,000 metric tons of GHG emissions.