Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act

National Canadian Clean Fuel Standard to be Rolled Out Soon

The Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) is a proposed regulation under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by reducing the lifecycle carbon intensity (CI) of liquid fossil fuels used in Canada. While the initial scope of the CFS included liquid, gaseous and solid fuels, the scope of the CFS was narrowed under Canada’s latest climate change plan, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, to include only liquid fuels.

The objective of the CFS is to decrease the CI of liquid fuels approximately 13% by 2030. The proposed Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR, under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999) would establish annual lifecycle CI limits per type of liquid fossil fuel, expressed in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule (gCO2e/MJ). The liquid fossil fuels that would be subject to the annual CI reduction requirement are gasoline, diesel, kerosene and light and heavy fuel oils. This obligation would be placed on primary suppliers (i.e. producers and importers) who domestically produce or import at least 400 cubic metres (m3) of liquid fossil fuel for use in Canada. Under the proposed CFR, primary suppliers would be required to reduce the CI of the liquid fossil fuels they produce in and import into Canada from 2016 CI levels by 2.4 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule (gCO2e/MJ) in 2022, increasing to 12gCO2e/MJ in 2030, at a rate of 1.2 gCO2e/MJ per year. Reduction requirements for the years after 2030 would be held constant at 12 gCO2e/MJ, subject to a review of the regulations and future amendments.

The proposed CFR allows for flexible compliance options to enable primary suppliers to choose the lowest-cost compliance actions. Primary suppliers are required to satisfy their emission reduction requirements by creating or acquiring compliance credits. Primary suppliers can obtain compliance credits by:

1. undertaking activities that generate credits for its own account;
2. acquiring credits from others; or
3. paying into a compliance fund to acquire credits at a price of $350/tonne.

The proposed CFR would establish a credit market, where each credit would represent a lifecycle emission reduction of one tonne of CO2e. Parties that are not fossil fuel primary suppliers would be able to participate in the credit market as voluntary credit creators.

For each compliance period (typically a calendar year), a primary supplier would demonstrate compliance with their reduction requirement by creating credits or acquiring credits from other creators, and then using the required number of credits for compliance. Once a credit is used for compliance, it is retired and can no longer be used. For primary suppliers unable to satisfy their reduction requirement by June 30 following the end of a given compliance period, a market-clearing mechanism that facilitates credit acquisition by primary suppliers would also be available. The proposed CFR would set a maximum price for credits acquired, purchased or transferred in the credit clearance mechanism (CCM) at $300 in 2022 (CPI adjusted) per compliance credit. Where primary suppliers are unable to acquire sufficient compliance units through the CCM, they may carry forward up to 10% of their compliance obligation into subsequent compliance periods for up to two years. However, a 20% annual interest rate applies to amounts carried forward.

Compliance credits may be created by primary suppliers or voluntary credit creators who take one of the following actions:

1. Compliance Category 1: undertaking projects that reduce the lifecycle CI of fossil fuels;
2. Compliance Category 2: supplying low-CI fuels; or
3. Compliance Category 3: end-use fuel switching in transportation.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has identified four initial quantification methodologies for development in respect of Compliance Category 1, including: (i) carbon capture and storage (CCS); (ii) low-carbon intensity electricity generation; (iii) enhanced oil recovery; and (iv) co-processing of biocrudes in refineries and upgraders. In addition, a generic quantification methodology will be developed that can be utilized for activities which do not have their own bespoke quantification methodology, which will apply to such projects as energy efficiency, cogeneration, electrification and methane reductions. Project proponents would apply to ECCC to have a project recognized for credit creation and then submit an annual validation report with a third-party verification report and verification opinion. The credit period is 10 years with a possible five-year renewal for most projects, and a 20-year credit period and five-year renewal for CCS projects.

All low CI fuels supplied to the Canadian market, including fuels used to comply with existing federal and provincial renewable fuel regulatory requirements and British Columbia’s Renewable and Low Carbon Fuel Requirements Regulation, would be able to create credits under the proposed CFR.

To incentivize investments in low carbon fuels, the proposed CFR imposes limits on the proposed compliance options. These include a 10% limit of payment into the compliance fund mechanism, a 10% limit on the trading credits across fuel classes, and a 10% limit on carrying forward a credit obligation.

The CFR will retain the volumetric requirements under the existing federal Renewable Fuels Regulations (RFR) (5% low carbon fuel content in gasoline, 2% low carbon fuel content in diesel/fuel oil). This means that each primary supplier would be required to demonstrate for each compliance period that, of the total number of compliance credits it retires for compliance, a minimum (equivalent to 5% of its gasoline pool and 2% of its diesel and light fuel oil pool) is from low-CI fuels. These compliance credits are part of the total credits used to meet reduction requirements, but the same compliance credit cannot be used to meet the 5% and 2% requirements respectively. Prior to repeal of the RFR in 2024, companies will be entitled to rollover any existing compliance units and convert those units into credits recognized under the CFR.

The consultation period for the proposed CFR ended on March 4, 2021. Final regulations are expected to be published in the Canada Gazette, Part II in late 2021. Once the regulations are published, credit creators can register for and begin to create credits in the credit trading system. The CFR is expected to come into force on December 1, 2022.

Canadian Federal Carbon Pricing System Comes into Force in Backstop Jurisdictions

The Canadian federal government is committed to pricing carbon emissions and advancing the objectives of the Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. The main components of the federal carbon pricing backstop system are set out in the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which was passed in June 2018:

federal fuel charge; and
an Output-Based Pricing System for large emitters, i.e. those facilities with emissions 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

On October 23, 2018, the federal government announced that the federal carbon pricing system would come into force in 2019 in so-called “backstop jurisdictions”, i.e. those jurisdictions that have either decided not to implement a carbon price or to implement a system that does not meet federal requirements (the key requirement being a price on carbon of $20 per tonne starting in 2019, increasing by $10 per tonne annually until it reaches $50 per tonne in 2022. The backstop jurisdictions include: Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. In October 2018, the Department of Finance released details about how proceeds from the federal carbon pricing backstop will be returned directly to residents of backstop jurisdictions through the Climate Action Incentive. Both Ontario and Saskatchewan have launched constitutional challenges to the federal government’s jurisdiction to impose the federal carbon pricing scheme on the provinces. Both cases are expected to be heard in 2019. In the meantime, the federal carbon pricing system will come into force as planned.

Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Yukon have either developed their own carbon pricing systems that meet federal requirements or chosen to adopt the federal backstop.

The following table summarizes the carbon pricing initiatives across all provinces and territories as of January 1^st, 2019:

Jurisdiction	Carbon Pricing Approach
British Columbia:	Carbon tax = $35 per tonne, which will increase by $5 per tonne on April 1, 2019 until it reaches $50 per tonne by 2021.
Alberta:	Carbon levy = $30 per tonne. No further increases planned at this time.
Saskatchewan:	The federal backstop will apply, in part, in Saskatchewan: · Saskatchewan will implement its output-based performance standards system on January 1, 2019 (applicable to industrial facilities that emit ≥25,000 tonnes of CO2e per year). · Federal OBPS will apply to electricity generation and natural gas transmission pipelines beginning January 1, 2019 (applicable to facilities from those sectors that emit ≥50,000 tonnes of CO2e per year, with the ability for smaller facilities that emit ≥10,000 tonnes of CO2e per year to voluntarily opt-in to the system). · Federal fuel charge to apply from April 2019.
Manitoba:	· Federal OBPS will apply from January 1, 2019 (applicable to facilities from those sectors that emit ≥50,000 tonnes of CO2e per year, with the ability for smaller facilities that emit ≥10,000 tonnes of CO2e per year to voluntarily opt-in to the system). · Federal fuel charge to apply from April 2019.
Ontario:	· Federal OBPS will apply from January 1, 2019 (applicable to facilities from those sectors that emit ≥50,000 tonnes of CO2e per year, with the ability for smaller facilities that emit ≥10,000 tonnes of CO2e per year to voluntarily opt-in to the system). · Federal fuel charge to apply from April 2019.
Québec:	Cap & Trade System – Allowance Price of CAD $20.27 (based on results of November 14, 2018 auction)
New Brunswick:	· Federal OBPS will apply from January 1, 2019 (applicable to facilities from those sectors that emit ≥50,000 tonnes of CO2e per year, with the ability for smaller facilities that emit ≥10,000 tonnes of CO2e per year to voluntarily opt-in to the system). · Federal fuel charge to apply from April 2019.
Nova Scotia:	Cap-and-trade program will start on January 1, 2019.
PEI:	The federal backstop will apply in PEI, in part: · A carbon levy on fuel will come into force on April 1, 2019. · Federal OBPS will apply from January 1, 2019 (applicable to facilities from those sectors that emit ≥50,000 tonnes of CO2e per year, with the ability for smaller facilities that emit ≥10,000 tonnes of CO2e per year to voluntarily opt-in to the system).
Newfoundland and Labrador:	Newfoundland & Labrador’s own carbon pricing plan came into force on January 1, 2019: · Provincial carbon tax rate of $20 tonne will commence on January 1, 2019. · A performance-based system for offshore and onshore industries will establish GHG reduction targets for large industrial facilities and large scale electricity generation; exemptions for certain sectors are available.
Nunavut:	· Federal OBPS will apply from July 1, 2019 (applicable to facilities from those sectors that emit ≥50,000 tonnes of CO2e per year, with the ability for smaller facilities that emit ≥10,000 tonnes of CO2e per year to voluntarily opt-in to the system). · Federal fuel charge to apply from July 1, 2019.
Yukon:	· Federal OBPS will apply from July 1, 2019 (applicable to facilities from those sectors that emit ≥50,000 tonnes of CO2e per year, with the ability for smaller facilities that emit ≥10,000 tonnes of CO2e per year to voluntarily opt-in to the system). · Federal fuel charge to apply from July 1, 2019.
Northwest Territories:	Northwest Territories will introduce a carbon tax on fuels starting July 1, 2019 = $20/tonne of GHG emissions; this will increase annually until it reaches $50/tonne.

Federal Government Announces Next Steps in Climate Change Plan, including Climate Action Incentive Payments

On October 23, 2018, the federal government announced that it is moving forward with the next steps in its Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (the Framework), including a price on carbon. In January 2018, the government released the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which set out a carbon pricing system based on a two-pronged approach: (1) a charge on fossil fuels that are consumed within a province or territory (which will generally be paid by fuel producers and distributors), which will be administered by the Canada Revenue Agency; and (2) an output-based pricing system (OBPS) that will apply to emissions-intensive industrial facilities, which will be administered by Environment Canada and Climate Change (ECCC).

Under the Framework, provinces and territories have the flexibility to design their own carbon pricing systems. The federal government’s plan requires provinces and territories to implement a carbon price of $20 per tonne of CO₂e starting in 2019, which will increase by $10 per tonne annually until it reaches $50 per tonne in 2022. BC, Alberta, Newfoundland & Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Yukon have all adopted carbon pricing systems that meet the federal benchmark. Four provinces – Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Saskatchewan – have decided either not to implement a carbon price or they have implemented system which do not meet federal standards. As a result, they will have the federal carbon pricing backstop implemented in their jurisdictions on January 1, 2019. As part of the federal government’s announcement, the Department of Finance Canada released a set of draft regulatory proposals under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. The federal government will return the proceeds of the federal carbon pricing system to the province or territory of origin:

directly to the governments of those jurisdictions that choose to adopt the federal system;
directly to individuals and families, through the proposed Climate Action Incentive payments, as well as to particularly affected sectors in those other jurisdictions that do not meet the federal standard (i.e. Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Saskatchewan); and
proceeds from the OBPS in Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Saskatchewan will be returned to the province of origin (the mechanism by which such proceeds will be returned will be determined at a later date).

The federal government has committed to provide annual updates on how the proceeds of the federal carbon pricing system were allocated.

Finance Canada also released the following details on the application of the federal backstop in the four provinces that do not have carbon pricing systems in place that meet federal requirements:

The fuel charge rates that will apply starting in 2019. For example, in 2019, the price on gasoline will be $0.0442 per litre and the price on aviation turbo fuel will be $0.0516 per litre, both based on a carbon price of $20 per tonne. The fuel charge will come into effect on April 1, 2019.
The proceeds from the fuel charge that forms part of federal carbon pollution pricing system will be returned directly to individuals and families through Climate Action Incentive These payments will be delivered as part of federal tax returns, and the government has indicated that most people should receive more in rebates than they pay as a result of the fuel charge.
There will be some exemptions and/or supplements from the fuel charge for greenhouse operators and power plant operators that generate electricity for off-grid communities, which will include farmers, fishers and residents of rural and remote communities.
The federal government has also announced that it will provide support to municipalities, universities, colleges, schools, colleges, hospitals, non-profits and Indigenous communities that incur an additional cost as a result of pricing carbon pollution. Finance Canada has provided estimates of support available for municipalities, public sector organizations and Indigenous communities in each of the four provinces:

Table 1: Estimated Support for Municipalities, Universities, Schools and Colleges, Hospitals, Non-Profits, and Indigenous Communities, 2019-20 to 2023-24
Province	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	Total
Ontario	$50 million	$75 million	$100 million	$125 million	$125 million	$475 million
Saskatchewan	$15 million	$25 million	$30 million	$40 million	$40 million	$150 million
Manitoba	$5 million	$10 million	$15 million	$15 million	$15 million	$60 million
New Brunswick	$3 million	$4 million	$5 million	$5 million	$5 million	$22 million
Note: Annual amounts under $5 million are rounded to the nearest million; those over $5 million are rounded to the nearest $5 million. Estimates are illustrative and subject to adjustments as more information becomes available. Costs to administer the support are not included in the above figures and will be borne by the Government of Canada.

In addition, universities, schools and hospitals can seek funding from the Low Carbon Economy Fund (LCEF) for GHG emission reduction initiatives under both the Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund and the LCEF Challenge.

In recognition of the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the federal government has committed to providing additional support to help them take climate action. To that end, Finance Canada has provided estimates of support available for SMEs in each of the four provinces:

Table 1: Estimated Support to Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, 2019-20 to 2023-24
Province	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	Total
Ontario	$105 million	$155 million	$205 million	$255 million	$255 million	$975 million
Saskatchewan	$30 million	$45 million	$60 million	$80 million	$80 million	$295 million
Manitoba	$15 million	$20 million	$25 million	$35 million	$35 million	$130 million
New Brunswick	$5 million	$10 million	$10 million	$15 million	$15 million	$55 million
Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest $5 million. Estimates are illustrative and subject to adjustments as more information becomes available. Costs to administer the support are not included in the above figures and will be borne by the Government of Canada.

Under the LCEF, the federal government has so far contributed over $300 million to provincial/territorial programs for eligible SMEs including energy retrofits, energy efficient equipment upgrades and fuel switching.

Further design details on the various support programs will be outlined in early 2019. Finance Canada is accepting comments on the draft regulatory proposals until November 23, 2018.

With respect to the OBPS, the government has indicated that draft regulations will be released in the next few weeks. Impacted industrial facilities in the four provinces that are subject to the federal OBPS will need to register by December 31, 2018.