Updated methane emissions data, using more accurate methodologies and advanced technologies, shows Alberta has reduced methane emissions by 62 per cent. This puts the province well ahead of schedule in achieving its 2035 target of a 75 per cent reduction. Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Grant Hunter will highlight this progress on Nov. 12, coinciding with Methane Day at the Canadian Pavilion during COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye.

“Alberta is not waiting for someone else to solve the methane challenge. We are doing it faster than promised while producing more of the energy the world needs. Our innovators and energy producers are proving that technology, smart regulation and a relentless focus on results can deliver extraordinary progress. We reached our first target years early – we have now cut methane by 62 per cent and we are not slowing down.”

Grant Hunter, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas

Alberta’s record of success is central to the landmark November 2025 Canada-Alberta Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Under that agreement, both governments committed to pursue methane regulatory equivalency, recognizing Alberta’s proven, performance-based approach. The March 2026 Agreement-in-Principle sets a path toward reducing oil and gas methane emissions by 75 per cent below 2014 levels by 2035. With emissions already down 62 per cent, Alberta is on track to reach that goal while keeping methane regulation in provincial hands and avoiding duplicative rules.

The made-in-Alberta approach pairs practical provincial requirements with industry ingenuity, early-action incentives and rapid technological innovation. Since 2019, Alberta has invested about $172 million in methane reduction technology, while its Emission Offset System has supported the installation of more than 61,000 methane-reducing devices. Better measurement and direct industry reporting reinforce the message Alberta is bringing to COP31: innovation can cut methane at record speed without holding back energy production.

Quick facts

  • A recent report from the Alberta Energy Regulator shows venting and flaring volumes declined while bitumen production increased 6.1 per cent and crude oil production increased 3.5 per cent.
  • Updated methodology indicates Alberta achieved its original 45 per cent methane reduction target in 2021 – four years ahead of the 2025 goal.
  • Alberta has invested about $172 million in methane reduction technology since 2019, including testing facilities, equipment upgrades and technologies now used internationally.
  • Alberta was the first oil-and-gas-producing jurisdiction to introduce requirements for flaring emissions, beginning in the early 1990s.
  • Alberta’s approach to reducing methane through flaring, venting and fugitive-emissions controls has been recognized nationally and internationally.
  • Alberta’s Emission Offset System has helped industry install more than 61,000 devices to reduce methane emissions.

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