Western Climate Initiative

Manitoba Releases Updated Climate Change Strategy and Confirms Implementation of Cap & Trade

On December 3, 2015, Manitoba released its Climate Change and Green Economy Action Plan (the Plan), which updates the province’s 2008 Climate Action Plan, Beyond Kyoto. The Plan sets out Manitoba’s medium and long-term GHG reduction targets:

By 2030, Manitoba will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by one-third over 2005 levels.
By 2050, Manitoba will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by one-half over 2005 levels.
By 2080, Manitoba will be carbon neutral.

The Plan also outlines projects that will be undertaken through Manitoba’s new five-year $5 million Climate Change Action Fund. Funds will be invested across sectors to continue driving innovation in the province’s transportation and agriculture sectors, assess local climate risks and develop solutions, expand climate change work on the ground by partnering with communities, and expand innovative energy projects in First Nation communities. Manitoba will also look at how carbon pricing can be used as a tool to drive innovation and boost economic growth while reducing GHG emissions. Manitoba, a member of the Western Climate Initiative, reiterated its commitment to implement a cap and trade program for 20 large emitters in the province and will look at other innovative measures, such as a made-in-Manitoba Carbon Stewardship model for sectors not covered by cap and trade. To that end, Manitoba will carry out public consultations on carbon pricing to explore a range of opportunities. Under the Plan, the Manitoba government will also reduce emissions from government operations through increased energy efficiency, a greener vehicle fleet and equipment, greener office spaces, and waste reduction. Manitoba will provide a complete inventory of its own GHG emissions and develop a comprehensive policy framework to enable it to become a carbon neutral government. The Plan also addresses key sectors such as buildings, transportation and agriculture. Manitoba has demonstrated its climate leadership with the development of new zero-emission battery electric transit buses and transformative research into new crops and natural bio-products.

Ontario Resurrects Cap-and-Trade

Following recent public consultations on its Climate Change Discussion Paper, Ontario is expected to bring in a cap-and-trade system which reports say could raise between $1 billion to $2 billion per year, depending on the price of carbon permits. Ontario Environment Minister Glen Murray is expected to present the plan to cabinet for approval by mid-April 2015. Under a cap-and-trade system, a limit is placed on total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with the price of carbon being determined by the market. Under the system envisioned by Ontario, the cap will be divided into permits, some of which will be given away (to maintain competitiveness, particularly where a particular industry is trade sensitive) while the remaining permits will be auctioned off. Regulated emitters will be required to obtain a sufficient number of permits to cover their emissions and where emitters are able to reduce emissions, they will be able to sell permits to those emitters who need more. The auction proceeds will likely be directed into GHG emission reduction initiatives such as energy conservation retrofitting.

Once implemented, Ontario’s system could be linked with Quebec and California’s current cap-and-trade program, which would create a carbon market of 61 million people that covers more than 60% of Canada’s population. Ontario’s cap-and-trade plan has been waiting in the wings for a while. The province agreed to price carbon when it joined the Western Climate Initiative with Quebec, B.C. and California in 2008, and subsequently the Ontario government passed enabling legislation for a cap-and-trade system. However, cap-and-trade soon took a back seat to the recession and political uncertainty meant that there was little appetite for moving forward with climate change plans. With Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne taking a climate leadership role, there is new impetus for bold action on GHG reduction initiatives at the provincial level.

Québec’s First Cap & Trade Permit Auction Results

In the first auction of permits under Québec’s cap-and-trade scheme on December 3, 2013, bidders purchased only about one-third of the emission allowances offered – or 1.03 million of the 2.97 million 2013 permits. As a result of the low demand, the permits cleared at the lowest possible price of $10.75 per metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Québec said it sold a combined CAD $29 million in 2013 and 2016 allowances in the auction. The province plans to sell the remaining 2013 carbon allowances in future auctions, which will be held every quarter starting March 4. Regulated entities will have until November 1, 2015 to acquire carbon allowances covering emissions generated in 2013 and 2014.

Yves-François Blanchet, Québec’s Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, Wildlife and Parks said that the province is very satisfied with the results of the first auction and is confident that the remaining units will be sold at the upcoming auctions. Bloomberg New Energy Finance market analyst William Nelson observed that it was a “surprisingly under-subscribed auction”, but went on to say that the province’s failure to sell all the allowances in the first auction was a “one-time freak result”. Nelson anticipates that future auctions will fare better as the entities that did not participate in the auction this week will eventually show up as they still need to cover their emissions for the next two years.

Quebec’s program will be integrated with the larger California cap-and-trade market in 2014, when entities from both jurisdictions will be able to buy and sell emission allowances and offsets in either jurisdiction. At California’s last auction on November 19, 2013, the state sold 16.6 million tons of carbon allowances at a price of $11.48 each, which was in line with market expectations.

The results of the Québec auction are available online (in French only)

The results of California’s November 2013 auction are also available from the state’s Air Resources Board.

California Governor Gives Green Light to Link Carbon Market to Quebec

In a letter dated April 8, 2013 to the state Air Resources Board (ARB), California Governor Jerry Brown approved a proposal to link the California’s cap-and-trade system with Quebec’s program, paving the way for companies to trade carbon permits across borders.

In the April 8 letter, Governor Brown found that the request from the ARB met all necessary state requirements. The ARB, which has been working with Quebec for several years to develop complementary systems, will consider changes to its cap-and-trade program on April 19 that will allow it to link with Quebec. Quebec is the first region that California has proposed to partner with, which will lay the foundation for a broader system that other governments may join.

ARB staff has said a link with Quebec would expand investments in low-carbon technologies, many of which are being developed in California, and improve market liquidity for carbon allowances by increasing the pool of both permits and companies trading them. According to the Governor’s letter, California will not link systems with Quebec until January 1, 2014. In the meantime, the ARB and Quebec’s Ministry of Environment will test their auction platforms and trading systems to ensure they are compatible. Governor Brown has asked the ARB to file a report with his office by November 1, 2013 outlining how the ARB will review and take public comment on changes to a linked program and whether there are any impediments to linkage occurring on January 1, 2014.

Quebec plans to reduce emissions to 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 with its cap-and-trade program, which applies to about 75 companies in the province. Under California’s program, carbon emissions from power generators, oil refineries and other industrial plants will be capped and then gradually reduced to 1990 levels by 2020. The system will eventually regulate 85 percent of the greenhouse gases released in California.

Regulators in both California and Quebec are issuing carbon allowances through a combination of free allocations and auctions, each permitting the release of 1 metric ton. Companies must turn in allowances to cover their emissions, and those with more allowances than they need, can sell or trade the excess.

California Holds Successful First Auction of Carbon Allowances

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) held its first auction on November 14, 2012 for the purchase and sale of carbon allowances for its planned cap-and-trade regime. Mary Nichols, chairman of CARB, declared the auction a success:

“The auction was a success and an important milestone for California as a leader in the global clean tech market. By putting a price on carbon, we can break our unhealthy dependence on fossil fuels and move at full speed toward a clean energy future. That means new jobs, cleaner water and air – and a working model for other states, and the nation, to use as we gear up to fight climate change and make our economy more competitive and resilient.”

The auction results were released to the public on November 19^th (available online) . A tonne of carbon for the 2013 vintage year sold for $10.09, which is slightly above the $10.00 price floor set by CARB. The highest bid was a whopping $91.13. Also, there was three times the number of bidders at the auction than actual buyers, indicating a healthy and competitive market. Furthermore, 97% of allowances were purchased by regulated entities indicating that prices were not influenced by speculative buyers. Instead, it seems to indicate that regulated entities are looking to retire allowances for compliance purposes. Perhaps most importantly, the auction sold out with all 23,126,110 2013 vintage year allowances being purchased, raising approximately US$233 million. This auction kicks off the largest carbon market in North America and the second largest in the world, behind the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme.

California’s partners in the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) – including British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Québec – are no doubt paying close attention. Apart from Québec, which will launch its emissions trading system on January 1, 2013 with California, the success of California’s cap-and-trade program may spur the other WCI partners into action to implement a similar scheme.

California to hold First Auction of GHG Emission Allowances on November 14, 2012

Bill AB 32 requires California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The cap and trade regulation (“Regulation”) is a key element of California’s climate plan. The Regulation is designed to provide regulated entities with the flexibility to seek out and implement the lowest cost options to reduce emissions. California’s cap and trade program will be second in size only to the European Union’s Emissions Trading System based on the amount of emissions covered. In addition to driving emission cuts in the ninth largest economy in the world, California’s program will provide critical experience in how an economy-wide cap and- trade system can function in the United States.

It is anticipated that California’s emissions trading system will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from regulated entities by more than 16% between 2013 and 2020. Starting on January 1, 2013, the Regulation will apply to large electric power plants and large industrial plants. In 2015, it will extend to fuel distributors (including distributors of heating and transportation fuels). At that stage, the program will encompass around 360 businesses throughout California and nearly 85% of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

Under a cap and trade system, companies must hold enough emission allowances to cover their emissions, and are free to buy and sell allowances on the open market. As part of the cap and trade program, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) will hold allowance auctions to allow market participants to acquire allowances directly from ARB. ARB will conduct the first auction on November 14, 2012 from 10am to 1pm PST. ARB will also conduct the first quarterly reserve sale on March 8, 2013. Auction participants will have to apply to participate in an auction, or submit a bid for reserve sales, and meet financial regulatory requirements in order to participate in an auction or reserve sale.

The November 14^th auction will mark the beginning of the first greenhouse gas cap and trade program in the United States since the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap and trade program for power plants in nine northeastern US states, held its first auction in 2008.

California covered entities, opt-in covered entities, and voluntarily associated entities are eligible to participate in the November 2012 GHG allowance auction. Approved offset registries, verification bodies, and offset verifiers are not eligible to participate in auctions as they are not allowed to hold compliance instruments under the Regulation. Prior to participating in an auction, the Primary Account Representative (PAR) and Alternate Account Representative (AAR) that will be authorized to bid on behalf of entities eligible to participate in the auction must be approved users in the Compliance Instrument Tracking System Service (CITSS) and the entity must have an entity account in the CITSS.

The detailed auction requirements and instructions are available online

Québec introduces amendments to draft GHG Regulations

To help Québec meet its emission reduction targets, the province introduced amendments to two draft GHG regulations in the June 8, 2012 edition of the Québec Official Gazette: (i) Regulation respecting mandatory reporting of certain emissions of contaminants into the atmosphere, and (ii) Regulation respecting a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emission allowances.

Amendments to the Regulation respecting a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emission allowances are intended to link the Quebec system with the California system as well as those of future partners such as Ontario and British Columbia. To this end, it specifies system registration admissibility conditions and necessary documents, as well as the procedure regulating emission rights trading and auctions, and provides the conditions for the delivery of offset credits, including protocols regarding certain admissible projects. Finally, amendments were made to adjust the regulation further to the adoption of Bill 89, An Act to amend the Environment Quality Act in order to reinforce compliance, by providing for administrative penalties and stronger sanctions.

The Regulation respecting mandatory reporting of certain emissions of contaminants into the atmosphere was also amended in order to complete the necessary harmonization with Western Climate Initiative (WCI) rules by adding declaration protocols. It provides, among other things, that the obligation to audit GHG emission declarations only applies to emitters subject to the GHG cap-and-trade system. In Québec, 2012 is a transition year during which regulated entities will have an opportunity to become familiar with the cap-and-trade system. The first carbon market compliance period will begin on January 1, 2013.

Legal Challenges Unlikely to Delay 2013 Start of California’s Cap-and-Trade Program

According to a panel of legal experts, it is unlikely that recent legal challenges to California’s cap-and-trade program will delay the start of compliance with the system on January 1, 2013. Speaking at the Navigating the American Carbon World conference in San Francisco on April 12, 2012, lawyers said that state regulators have done a good job in designing a system that can withstand legal challenges from regulated industries including the oil, gas and power sectors.

“Even if lawsuits are filed, I don’t think we’re going to see anything between now and the end of 2012 that will actually delay it,” said Tim O’Connor, a lawyer with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). He added that: “There might be lawsuits that are continuing, but nothing that will actually derail it at December 31, 2012,” when compliance with the program begins. Other panel members agreed that it was difficult to envision a scenario where a lawsuit would knock the program completely off course.

The majority of the lawsuits filed so far against the California Air Resources Board (ARB), the state agency that designed and is implementing the program, have come from environmental groups, not industry.

A lawsuit by an environmental justice group known as the Association of Irritated Residents (AIR) last year contributed to the ARB’s decision to delay compliance with the program until 2013.

In March 2012, two employees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), acting as private citizens, filed a lawsuit claiming the ARB overstepped its authority when it said offset credits could count for compliance with the system. State officials and independent legal experts at the conference said they were confident the state would prevail in that case.

One reason lawsuits from industry have yet to materialize may be because the state has designed a system that stands on firm legal ground, EDF’s O’Connor said: “I would hope that the reason we haven’t seen a lot of legal challenges so far is because there are a lot of options that have been taken off the table because of smart design and design that is in compliance with the law”.

(Sources include: Thomson Reuters Point Carbon)

Court gives California Green Light to Proceed with Cap-and-Trade

On September 28, 2011, a California Supreme Court judge ruled that the state’s Air Resources Board (ARB) can proceed with implementation of the California’s cap-and-trade program. The ruling was issued in the case of California Air Resources Board vs. Association of Irritated Residents, in which anti-poverty environmental justice organizations have argued a market-based approach exposes poor and minority communities to higher levels of pollution.
The implementation of the cap-and-trade program, which is scheduled to begin in California in 2012, has been held up because of a March 2011 court ruling that required the ARB to further consider alternatives to cap-and-trade that might provide more effective ways of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. ARB says that it has adequately considered alternatives such as a carbon tax, and is appealing the March 2011 decision in Superior Court. The September 28th ruling allows the ARB to move forward on cap-and-trade before the Superior Court rules.
California’s proposed cap-and-trade program is a major component of AB32, the state’s 2006 landmark climate change legislation. Under the law, California must reduce its GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. In addition, the legislation sets an overall limit on emissions from sources responsible for 85% of California’s GHG emissions. The cap-and-trade program is designed to work in collaboration with other complementary policies that expand energy efficiency programs, reduce vehicle emissions, and encourage innovation.
More information on the status of California’s cap-and-trade program is available on the ARB web site.

U.S. EPA Defers Deadline to Report Factors Used to Calculate GHG Emissions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is deferring the deadline for several industries to disclose factors they used to calculate their 2010 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The agency has established two deadlines for industries to report the inputs for calculations they performed to comply with the EPA’s mandatory reporting rule (40 C.F.R. Part 98), while the EPA continues to evaluate industry concerns about revealing potentially confidential business information. For factors the EPA said can be quickly evaluated, industries will be required to report their calculation inputs by March 31, 2013. For factors that will take longer to evaluate, the deadline is March 31, 2015, the agency said in a final rule to be published in the Federal Register on August 25, 2011. The EPA had proposed deferring the input reporting requirements until March 31, 2014 (75 Fed. Reg. 81,350), but now says the additional year is necessary for many of the calculation inputs because “the number of data elements that would require a more in-depth evaluation is much larger than EPA had anticipated at the time of the deferral proposal.” The final rule will require electric transmission systems, stationary sources that burn fuels, underground coal mines, municipal solid waste landfills, industrial wastewater treatment, electric equipment manufacturers, and industrial waste landfills to begin reporting several emissions inputs by March 31, 2013. The various inputs include the total heat input of fuels combusted, methane emissions, the decay rate of materials stored in landfills and the type of coverings used, and volumes of wastewater treated using anaerobic processes.

The second deadline of March 31, 2015 applies to several data elements that must be reported by stationary sources that burn fuels, adipic acid production, aluminum production, ammonia manufacturing, cement production, electronics manufacturers, ferroalloy production, fluorinated gas production, glass production, HCFC-22 production and HFC-23 destruction, hydrogen production, iron and steel production, lead production, lime manufacturing, carbonate uses, nitric acid production, petroleum and natural gas systems, petrochemical production, petroleum refineries, phosphoric acid production, pulp and paper production, silicon carbide production, soda ash manufacturing, titanium dioxide production, zinc production, industrial wastewater treatment, and industrial waste landfills.
Other industries must report inputs by September 30, 2011, which is also the deadline for all industries subject to the mandatory reporting rule to reveal their 2010 emissions.
Industries originally had until March 31 to report their 2010 emissions and calculation factors. But in March, the EPA extended that deadline until September 30th to allow the agency time to review industry concerns that some of the inputs used to calculate their emissions would be considered confidential business information (76 Fed. Reg. 14,812; 53 DEN A-4, 3/18/11). The agency has since determined that GHG emissions and the calculations and test methods used to measure emissions are public information and will not be treated as confidential. They are continuing to examine the factors used in calculations to determine if confidentiality is warranted (102 DEN A-2, 5/26/11). EPA sent another proposed rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review on July 13th that would define confidential business information that cannot be disclosed for eight emissions sources, including electronics manufacturing, petroleum and natural gas systems, and carbon sequestration (136 DEN A-9, 7/15/11). (Source: EPA, August, 25, 2011). For more information, see www.epa.gov.