CALGARY — The Alberta government on Friday announced a new provincial carbon credit framework that allows industrial operators to claim emissions offsets for "demonstrated engagement with the concept of carbon," in what officials described as "the most ambitious accounting reform in provincial history."

Under the new framework, operators earn one Alberta Carbon Credit for every documented instance of an executive, manager, or board member sincerely considering the company's carbon footprint, provided the consideration occurs in a building, during business hours, and is recorded in writing.

"This is what real climate leadership looks like," said Energy Minister Brian Jean, speaking at a podium in front of a banner reading Real Solutions, Alberta Made. "We are not letting Ottawa tell us what counts as carbon offsetting. If a CEO sits down at a desk and thinks, in good faith, about the climate, that is meaningful, and we are going to credit it."

The framework arrived following the third invocation of the Sovereignty Act last month, in which the province formally rejected federal definitions of carbon. With the previous accounting voided, officials confirmed, a new accounting was required. The new accounting, they said, "puts Alberta in control of what carbon means," which is described in the framework as "whatever the operator believes it means at the time."

Industry response has been positive. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers issued a statement calling the framework "a significant step forward," and confirmed that its members were already submitting backdated claims for thinking that had occurred over the previous fiscal year. One company submitted a single claim covering 14,000 hours of executive contemplation, accompanied by a memo from the CEO confirming that he had, in fact, thought about it.

Environmental groups described the framework as "satire-proof," noting that it had reached a level of self-parody that left no opening for critique. The Energy Minister, asked for a response, said the criticism was "predictable" and added that the critics had not thought hard enough about carbon to be entitled to a view.