Advisory group recommends steep hike in biofuel mandate

The provincial Expert Advisory Council has advised the government it could raise its biofuel mandates to much higher levels – 15% for ethanol and 10% for biodiesel – although no schedule for the hikes was suggested.

The report, released June 25, says Manitoba should dramatically reduce the reliance on imported petroleum products, and lays out a series of steps to do so. The report was prepared to assist the province in preparing a green transportation strategy.

It advises the province to adopt “continued increase of the biofuels blending levels to 15% ethanol and 10% biodiesel.” The provincial government announced increases in its biofuel mandates as of January this year, at 9.25% for ethanol required in gasoline (to rise to 10% on Jan. 1, 2022) and at 3.5% for biodiesel (5% on Jan. 1, 2022).

As well, the Council’s report recommended the government:

• Set a light duty zero emission vehicles mandate for new car sales that will reach a minimum of 10% by 2025, 50% by 2030, and 100% by 2035. This can be accelerated to achieve CSA targets where warranted by trends in the market; and
• Support the replacement of heavy-duty diesel vehicles with low carbon and zero emission alternatives in commercial trucking, agriculture, construction, natural resources, and other sectors.

The council also advised that governments should “increase extent and frequency of repaving, maintenance and smoothing of road surfaces to the maximum extent feasible to increase the fuel efficiency of vehicles in operation and incorporate frictionless transportation planning features into regional land-use and transportation planning systems wherever safe, feasible, and considers the associated full lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.”

“We are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors,” Guillemard said. “With transportation accounting for more than one-third of provincial emissions, we will strongly consider the EAC’s advice regarding this sector as we develop the Green Transportation Strategy for our province.”

The EAC said Manitoba’s green transportation strategy should be approved by the minister no later than December 31, 2022.