Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Cap and Trade) Act (GGRCTA)

Proposed Reporting Regulation

The Ministry of Environment intends to introduce a proposed Reporting Regulation to support fulfillment of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Cap and Trade) Act, which received Royal Assent on May 29, 2008. The proposed regulation will set out requirements for facilities with greenhouse gas emissions from most source categories within B.C. to report greenhouse gas emissions to the British Columbia Ministry of Environment.  This data will help provide a foundation for the development, and be key, in the implementation of a regional cap and trade system. It is anticipated that this regulation will come into effect in the fall of 2009.

A solid reporting mechanism is essential for a properly functioning cap-and-trade system and as such it is intended that the regulation will specify, among other criteria: greenhouse gases subject to reporting; level of emissions requiring reporting; facilities required to report; quantification methods to be used in reporting; requirements and procedures for annual reporting; verification/audit mechanisms; and compliance obligations.

Consultation

The intentions paper for the regulation was posted in October 2008. Comments were solicited for a period of 45 days. The intentions paper and a summary of the comments received are available here:

The ministry also held a workshop on November 25, 2008, for operators of facilities required to report under the proposed regulation, industry association representatives, and those in the greenhouse gas accounting and verification field. The purpose of the workshop was to provide information on the intentions paper and provide an opportunity for questions on the proposed policy direction. A copy of the workshop slides is available electronically by request through the Ministry of Environment.

Intentions Update

The ministry’s intentions for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Cap and Trade) Act Reporting Regulation have been updated from those indicated in Fall, 2009 to incorporate developments from the Western Climate Initiative’s Final Draft Essential Requirements of Mandatory Reporting (see http://www.westernclimateinitiative.org/wci-committees/reporting-committee) and stakeholder feedback received by the ministry.

Changed policy intentions include:

  • the proposed Reporting Regulation is intended to come into force later this year, with the first requirements on reporting operations now starting on January 1, 2010;
  • registration in the summer of 2009 would not be required;
  • annual emissions reports, beginning with the 2010 calendar year, will be required by March 31 of the following year. For facilities that emitted greater than 20,000 tonnes of CO2e in years between 2006 and 2009, the emissions report submitted in 2011 should also contain estimates of those emissions.
  • (i) upstream oil and gas, (ii) natural gas transmission and distribution; (iii) electricity transmission and distribution; and, (iv) oil pipeline transportation emissions would be aggregated and use a 10,000 tonne reporting threshold;
  • biomass would not be included in the calculation of the 10,000 tonne per calendar year reporting threshold;
  • reporting of on-site wastewater treatment emissions would be required at some industrial facilities, as per revised WCI Essential Requirements;
  • the amount of activity data that facilities would be required to report is reduced to parallel that indicated in the WCI Essential Requirements;
  • offset accounting for reporting facilities would not included; and,
  • except for special delineations for BC Hydro and BC Transmission Corporation, BC public-sector organizations covered under the Greenhouse Gas Reductions Target Act Carbon Neutral Government Regulation would not have reporting requirements under the BC Reporting Regulation.

Contacts