The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Dec. 8, edition that Ottawa has significantly lowered its expectations for the direct emissions cuts it will demand from the oil and gas sector by 2030. The Globe's Emma Graney and Marieke Walsh write that on Thursday the minority Liberals proposed a two-pronged approach to reduce the pollution from Canada's largest-emitting sector. While Ottawa believes the fossil-fuel industry can reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 20 to 23 per cent through technological changes, it will impose additional payments for offsets and a new decarbonization fund in order to bring total emissions reductions to between 35 and 38 per cent below 2019 levels by 2030. The federal government says its softened approach shows that it listened to industry concerns about the planned cap, but the sector roundly criticized the policy. By creating an entirely new regulatory system, industry groups say the government is imposing an unnecessarily complex set of rules. The emissions cap will apply to all on and offshore oil producers -- including Alberta's oil sands and upgrading activities that convert bitumen or heavy oil to synthetic crude -- as well as natural-gas production and processing.