Alberta's approach to the transfer of liability for carbon capture and storage projects

Abstract

The Province of Alberta has assumed a leadership role in Canada in developing a legal and regulatory framework for encouraging the adoption of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. One element of that framework deals with liability issues. This paper reviews the different liability issues associated with CCS projects as well as the case for transferring liability post-closure to the government. The paper then examines how Alberta has chosen to accept a transfer of that liability and how Alberta seeks to recover at least a portion of the costs associated with that liability from the injection industry through the mechanism of the Post-Closure Stewardship Fund. Some reference is made to the European Union's CCS Directive as a point of comparison.