Tag: British Columbia

BC and Washington State sign Cross-Border Climate Action Plans

The province of British Columbia (BC) and the state of Washington have signed two climate action plans to strengthen cross-border efforts to reduce carbon emissions while advancing the low-carbon economy.

The province of British Columbia (BC) and the state of Washington have signed two climate action plans to strengthen cross-border efforts to reduce carbon emissions while advancing the low-carbon economy.

On February 2, 2011, BC Minister of State for Climate Action John Yap and Washington Department of Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant signed plans on limiting carbon emissions from government operations and promoting awareness of the impacts of sea level rise on coastal areas.

Under the climate action plans, entitled “Joint Action Plan on Carbon Neutral Government” and “Joint Action Plan on Awareness and Outreach for Coastal Impacts of Climate Change”, BC and Washington will:

  • demonstrate how to make government operations as carbon-neutral as possible, sharing information and drawing on BC’s success in achieving a carbon-neutral public sector.
  • further strengthen engagement with British Columbians and Washingtonians about how sea level rise threatens critical shore areas and communities.
  • BC and Washington State have been working together on climate issues since signing a Memorandum of Understanding on Climate Action in 2007. These new action plans build on existing climate-related partnerships between BC and Washington, including:
  • Pacific Coast Collaborative – representing joint efforts by BC, Washington, Oregon, California, and Alaska on energy, transportation, climate change, and ocean issues.
  • Washington-British Columbia Memorandum of Understanding on Coastal Climate Change Adaptation – holding joint science workshops, exchanging information on sea-level rise projections and mapping, sharing information on Green Shores programs, and Washington and B.C. “king tide” photo initiatives.
  • Salish Sea Ecosystem/Puget Sound-Georgia Basin Ecosystem Research Conference – the largest, most comprehensive scientific research and policy conference that focuses on issues impacting the region known as the Salish Sea. BC and Washington take turns hosting the biennial conference.

In addition, BC and Washington state are active participants in the Western Climate Initiative, a cooperative effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in seven U.S. states and four Canadian provinces.

The action plans can be viewed online.

BC Releases Consultation Papers for Proposed Cap-and-Trade Regulations

BC Ministry of Environment (MOE) released consultation papers for the Emissions Trading Regulation and the Cap and Trade Offsets Regulation. The proposed regulations will provide the foundation for the province’s proposed cap-and-trade system under the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), which has a planned start date of January 1, 2012.

On October 22, 2010, the BC Ministry of Environment (MOE) released consultation papers for the Emissions Trading Regulation and the Cap and Trade Offsets Regulation. The proposed regulations will provide the foundation for the province’s proposed cap-and-trade system under the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), which has a planned start date of January 1, 2012. MOE is seeking comments from stakeholders, First Nations and the general public on the two proposed regulations until December 6, 2010. The proposed regulations are anticipated to be finalized in early 2011.

The proposed Emissions Trading Regulation is designed to establish an efficient, fair market for trading cap-and-trade compliance units. Under the proposed Emissions Trading Regulation, operations that meet certain criteria will be considered a “Regulated Operation”.

The following provisions are under consideration:

  • starting January 1, 2012 (or any subsequent year in which an operation emits 25,000 tonnes or more of CO2e), the regulation will apply to the operator of an operation that emits 25,000 tonnes or more of CO2e;
  • source types listed in Schedule A of the current Reporting Regulation (including activities such as general stationary combustion, aluminum production, cement production, coal mining, industrial wastewater processing, lime manufacturing, petroleum refining, and pulp and paper production) are under evaluation to be “covered sources” in the first compliance period;
  • additional sources types under consideration include emissions from anaerobic or aerobic digestion of wastewater, emissions from surface coal mines and stored coal piles, specific oil and gas and petroleum refinery emissions, and fugitive hydrofluorocarbon emissions  from cooling units at electricity generators;
  • verified emission reports and compliance unit liability may be linked in the registry, meaning that an amount equal to a Regulated Operation’s annual greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions will become its corresponding compliance obligation;
  • facilities below the 25,000 tonne threshold may be able to opt in to the emissions trading system;
  • each compliance period will last three years;
  • at the end of each three-year compliance period, one compliance unit will be retired for each tonne of GHG emissions;
  • every three years, BC will prepare a nine-year “Allowance Budget Forecast”, with the first forecast for the period from 2012 to 2020 being published in the first quarter of 2011 (in 2014, BC would release a forecast for the period from 2015 to 2023);
  • every three years, BC would establish a cap on allowances issued for the following three-year compliance period, known as an “Allowance Budget”;
  • in the third quarter of 2011 and every year thereafter, BC would publish an annual “Allowance Distribution Plan” that will describe how allowances will be allocated for the following year (including number of allowances to be auctioned, number of allowances to be distributed for free, number of allowances to be held in reserve or contingency accounts, and number of allowances to be sold directly in the market);
  • there will be two main allowance distribution mechanisms for distributing allowances to a Regulated Operation: by auction and by distribution for free;
  • auctions of allowances will be held quarterly in coordination with other WCI members on a single round, sealed-bid, uniform price basis;
  • BC will have the ability to set a minimum price for allowances sold at auction;
  • allowances allocated for free will be transferred into accounts at the beginning of each year;
  • a registry will be established to record the issuance, holding, transfer, retirement and cancellation of compliance units;
  • BC may collaborate on a registry with other WCI members;
  • compliance will be assessed every three years on July 1 of the year following the last year of the compliance period;
  • a number of compliance mechanisms will be available to Regulated Operations including limited use of offsets and approved compliance units from other systems, unlimited banking, multi-year compliance period, linking with partner jurisdictions, and government support for low-carbon policies and programs;
  • BC will set limits on the use of offsets as a percentage of an operator’s compliance obligation and is still seeking input about the percentage to be adopted in BC;
  • penalty for non-compliance will be assessed at three additional allowances for every allowance that the regulated operation is short; and

The proposed Offsets Regulation will govern emission offsets and set out steps for offset registration, validation, monitoring, quantification, reporting, verification, certification and issuance. It is expected that offsets issued in BC will be able to be traded and used for compliance across the WCI.  The following provisions are under consideration:

  • offset project eligibility will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: definition of an offset, real, additional, permanent and verifiable;
  • a BC offset, of “emission reduction unit” (“ERU”), would be issued based on certification of verified emission reductions from a registered offset project (one ERU will represent a reduction or removal of one tonne of CO2e);
  • ERUs would be issued for projects located within BC and may also be issued for projects located outside of BC in a partner jurisdiction (Recognized Compliance Units, or RCUs, are compliance units that will be recognized by BC under the Cap and Trade Act but not issued by/in British Columbia.;
  • ERUs would only be issued for projects that have a start date of January 1, 2007 or later (2007 was the year in which the WCI Memorandum of Understanding was signed);
  • BC government will carry out periodic risk-based auditing.

The consultation papers for the proposed Cap and Trade Offsets Regulation and Emissions Trading Regulation are available online.

B.C. and Federal Government take first step towards an Equivalency Agreement on Climate Change

On April 6, 2010, the federal Environment Minister, Jim Prentice, and B.C.’s Minister of State for Climate Change, John Yap, signed an Agreement in Principle on efforts to address climate change. This is the first step towards establishing a formal Equivalency Agreement under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999).

On April 6, 2010, the federal Environment Minister, Jim Prentice, and B.C.’s Minister of State for Climate Change, John Yap, signed an Agreement in Principle on efforts to address climate change. This is the first step towards establishing a formal Equivalency Agreement under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999).

Section 10 of CEPA 1999 provides for Equivalency Agreements where provincial or territorial environmental legislation has provisions that are equivalent to provisions in CEPA 1999. The purpose of an Equivalency Agreement is to eliminate the duplication of environmental regulations. Equivalency is based on the following criteria: (i) equivalent regulatory standards; and (ii) similar provisions for citizens to request investigations. This will mean that B.C.-based businesses will not have to deal with competing regulatory requirements, such as for greenhouse gas emissions reporting, when it comes to climate change regulation.

Throughout 2009, the federal government consulted with the provinces and territories on Canada’s climate change strategy. According to Minister Yap: “We are building a strong template for acting on climate change here in B.C. and it is great to have the ongoing support of the federal government as we move forward. Climate change is the challenge of our generation and we need strong partnerships like this one to devise solutions that help us meet our legislative commitments while creating new economic opportunities for British Columbians.”

For more information, please refer to Environment Canada’s news release: Link

BC Introduces Legislation Aimed at Zero Net Deforestation

BC’s Minister of Forests and Range introduced Bill 5, the Zero Net Deforestation Act (the Act), to enshrine the BC government’s commitment to zero net deforestation (ZND) in the province.

On March 22, 2010, BC’s Minister of Forests and Range introduced Bill 5, the Zero Net Deforestation Act (the Act), to enshrine the BC government’s commitment to zero net deforestation (ZND) in the province. In doing so, BC is one of the first jurisdictions in the world to introduce a goal of ZND into legislation. In particular, the Act meets the commitment made by the government in its 2008 throne speech to pursue the goal of ZND, which will be achieved when the area of newly created forest land in BC is equal to or greater than the area of deforestation. To that end, the Act encourages the planting of an equal area of trees to offset any forestry lands that are permanently cleared for another use. The government must achieve ZND within BC by December 31, 2015.  Pat Bell, the Minister of Forests and Range, said in a statement that “British Columbia is committed to achieving zero net deforestation by 2015 to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Forests absorb and store carbon, which make them important allies in the fight against climate change.”

Deforestation is a major contributor to greenhouse emissions worldwide, and results in the loss of forests that absorb and store carbon and provide other ecosystem services. Approximately 6,200 hectares were deforested in BC in 2007.  Approximately 2,000 hectares were afforested the same year.  BC’s objective is to reduce deforestation and increase afforestation to close the gap by 2015 and beyond.

The Act defines key terms and sets out the government’s reporting requirements. In particular, the Act defines deforestation as the permanent loss of trees from an area and requires the Minister of Forests and Range to regularly report on progress towards ZND. Under the Act, regulations may be established with respect to methodologies for calculating deforestation and afforestation, as well as requirements for the timing, form and content of reports.

It should be noted that because timber harvesting in B.C. is considered to be sustainably managed, it is not considered to be deforestation. The Ministry of Forests and Range has indicated that it plans to partner with a number of other groups and agencies to help encourage projects that will mitigate deforestation. Also, the Province will engage in consultations over the next few months with stakeholders, communities and First Nations for their ideas on best approaches to implement the ZND policy.

B.C.’s GHG Reporting Regulation has come into force on January 1, 2010

The Reporting Regulation (the Regulation) is a new regulation under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Cap and Trade) Act that has come into force on January 1, 2010. The Regulation requires facilities in British Columbia that emit over 10,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHGs) annually to report their emissions.

The Regulation has been designed to allow for a single reporting window with Environment Canada, which aims to create administrative simplicity for industry stakeholders. The Regulation sets out requirements for facilities with GHG emissions from a number of activities within B.C. to report GHG emissions to the Ministry of Environment (MOE).

One of the key objectives of the Regulation is to facilitate an accurate and transparent reporting mechanism, which will support properly functioning cap-and-trade system. As such, the Regulation specifies among other criteria:

· GHGs 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 mechanisms; and

· compliance obligations.

Below is an overview of the reporting specifics:

· all six main GHGs included;

· 10,000 tonne carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) reporting threshold;

· 25,000 tonne CO2e verification threshold;

· upstream oil and gas; (ii) natural gas transmission and distribution; (iii) electricity transmission and distribution; and, (iv) oil pipeline transportation emissions are aggregated into “linear facilities” to determine whether the 10,000 tonne reporting and 25,000 verification thresholds are exceeded;

· carbon dioxide from wood biomass, or the wood biomass component of mixed fuels, is not included in the determination of thresholds;

· first requirements (data collection and management) for reporting operations start on January 1, 2010;

· not applicable to public sector organizations, except for BC Hydro and BC Transmission Corporation electricity generation or electricity transmission;

· not applicable to emissions of landfill gas as defined under the Landfill Gas Management Regulation;

· registration to occur by April 1, 2010;

· annual emissions reports, beginning with the 2010 calendar year, required by March 31 of the following year;

· facilities with emissions greater than 20,000 tonnes of CO2e in any year between 2006 and 2009 must report these emissions along with the 2010 emissions report submitted in 2011;

· a facility may calculate emissions using alternative methodologies for the lower of 3% of the facilities total emissions, or 20,000 tonnes;

· for the 2010 calendar year, a facility may measure a specific parameter using alternative methods inconsistent with those prescribed in the regulation (approval is required for this after March 31, 2010);

· MOE may publish emissions data from major source categories;

· a facility may request that certain data remain confidential; and

· Western Climate Initiative quantification methods are required to be used (where these do not exist, required methods are specified by the MOE).

Below is an overview of verification specifics:

· verification to a reasonable level of assurance;

· 5% materiality threshold applies;

· verification statements to be submitted by September 1 of the following year for 2010 and 2011 reports (thereafter the verification deadline is the same as the reporting deadline, April 1);

· verification to be completed by an independent third party verification body, accredited by the Standards Council of Canada or the American National Standards Institute in accordance with ISO 14065;

· for verifications completed before Dec. 31, 2012, verifiers can be accredited by the California Air Resources Board; and

· conflict of interest requirements for verifiers apply.

Activities covered include:

· General Stationary Combustion

· Mobile Equipment Fuel Combustion (except for linear facilities; generally on-site, off-road equipment)

· Aluminium or Alumina Production

· Ammonia Production

· Carbon Dioxide Transportation (linear facility)

· Cement Production

· Coal Mining from Underground Mines

· Coal Storage at Facilities that Combust Coal

· Copper or Nickel Smelting or Refining

· Electricity Generation

· Electricity Transmission (linear facility)

· Electronics Manufacturing 

· Ferroalloy Production

· Glass Manufacturing

· Hydrogen Production

· Industrial Wastewater Processing

· Lead Production

· Lime Manufacturing

· Magnesium Production

· Natural Gas Transmission, Natural Gas Distribution or Natural Gas Storage (linear facility)

· Nitric Acid Manufacturing

· Oil and Gas Extraction and Processing Activities (linear facility)

· Oil Transmission (linear facility)

· Petrochemical Production

· Petroleum Refining

· Phosphoric Acid Production

· Pulp and Paper Production

· Refinery Fuel Gas Combustion

· Zinc Production