Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Don O'Connor. I'm the president of S&T Squared Consultants.
Our client base is international, and so far this year we've had clients from Canada, the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia. Clients include investment banks, multinational refining companies, alternative fuel producers, agri-food processors, associations representing agri-food processors and biofuel producers, technology developers and some large fuel users.
I'm a mechanical engineer by training. I'm a registered professional engineer in British Columbia and Ontario, and I'm also a member of the Society of Automobile Engineers. I've co-authored seven peer-reviewed papers mostly related to greenhouse gas emissions from alternative fuels, and I'm a co-inventor of seven patents, most of them related to processes for cellulosic ethanol.
I have 40 years of experience with alternative transportation fuels, first as a marketer, then as a producer, and for the past 20 years as a consultant. I've worked with many of the provinces when they introduced their renewable fuel programs between 2002 and 2012, and my experience covers ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, natural gas, methanol, propane and hydrogen.
For the past 20 years I've been the developer of the GHGenius life-cycle assessment model. This model focuses on the GHG emissions of transportation fuels. It has over 200 pathways for producing and using conventional and alternative fuels. It is specified currently in regulations in B.C., Alberta, and Ontario; and Quebec has proposed using this model for its proposed renewable fuel requirements. The model is used around the world, and through our development and use of the model we've acquired more real-world data on the performance of alternative production fuels and processes than anyone else in Canada.
Based on my experience, I'd like to make three observations for your consideration.
First, reductions in GHG emissions now are worth more than will be the reductions 10 years from now. We should stop thinking about per cent GHG emissions reductions in 2030 or 2040, and instead focus on looking at the cumulative GHG emissions between now and 2030 or 2040. In other words, the time for action is now, not 10 years from now.
My second point is that it's a lot more complex and takes a lot longer to replace fuels and vehicles than it does just to lower the carbon intensity of fuels using existing vehicles. I saw that over and over again in the 1980s and 1990s, when the company I was working for was introducing some of these alternative fuels.
The third point is that many of the claims that companies and organizations are making about achieving net-zero emissions are being made with the focus only on making the fuels and not using the fuels. Net-zero crude oil production only addresses 10% to 15% of the life-cycle emissions of gasoline and diesel fuel. On the other hand, technology-produced net-zero renewable fuels on a full-life cycle basis are available today, and could conceivably be implemented.
I'm here to answer any questions you have in the production and use of alternative fuels and the GHG emission performance of the various alternatives.
I look forward to your questions.
Thank you.