Ottawa's GHG offset system to include a "fast track" project approval system for first 6 months
submitted by Grant Boyle
On August 9 the federal government published a draft Guide for Protocol Developers for Canada’s Offset System for Greenhouse Gases. The draft Guide will undergo a 60 day consultation period before a final Guide is published. The Guide is intended to provide details on the requirements to complete an Offset System Quantification Protocol and the steps that must be followed to create offset credits under the federal GHG emissions framework.
Projects must take place in Canada, must have started on or after January 1, 2000, must be surplus to all legal requirements (federal, provincial/territorial and regional) and go beyond what is expected from the receipt of other climate change incentives (federal, provincial/territorial). Credits may be issued for reductions achieved after January 1, 2008.
The quantification requirements in the Guide are based on the ISO 14064 standard. The Guide does not provide or recommend an approach to quantify GHG reductions from specific project types and will rely on project proponents to develop and submit their own protocols to Environment Canada for approval, unless the protocol type has already been approved by the Ministry. The approvals process is expected to take 5-8 months.
During the first six months of the operation of the Offset System, Environment Canada will implement a modified and accelerated process to review and approve Offset System Quantification Protocols that are derived from a list of 40 “external protocols” from other systems, including: the Clean Development Mechanism, Alberta’s Specified Gas Emitters Regulation, the California Climate Action Registry, the Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme in New South Wales, France’s Offset System, and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The Guide includes a proposed list of external protocols for “fast track” approval:
Agriculture
*Including Edible Oils in Cattle Feeding Regimes (Alberta)
*Reducing Days on Feed of Cattle (Alberta)
*Reducing the Slaughter Age of Cattle (Alberta)
*Anaerobic Decomposition of Agricultural Materials (Alberta)
*Livestock Project Reporting Protocol Capturing And Combusting Methane From *Manure Management Systems (California)
*GHG Emission Reductions From Manure Management Systems (CDM)
*Innovative Feeding Of Swine and Storing and Spreading of Swine Manure (Alberta)
*Tillage System Management (Alberta)
Energy Efficiency
*Waste Gas Or Waste Heat Or Waste Pressure Based Energy Systems (CDM)
*Residential Buildings (Alberta)
*Commercial Buildings(Alberta)
*Waste Heat Recovery Projects (Alberta)
*Waste Heat Recovery Project - Streamlined(Alberta)
*Energy Efficiency Projects (Alberta)
Forestry
*Afforestation Projects (Alberta)
*Forest Management (California)
Fossil Fuels
*Industrial Fuel Switching From Coal Or Petroleum Fuels To Natural Gas (CDM)
*Switching From Coal And/Or Petroleum Fuels To Natural Gas In Existing Power Plants For Electricity Generation (CDM)
Geological Sequestration
*Acid Gas Injection (Alberta)
*Enhanced Oil Recovery (Alberta)
Methane
*Landfill Gas Capture And Combustion (Alberta)
*Landfill Project Reporting Protocol Collecting And Combusting Methane From Landfills (California)
*Landfill Gas Project Activities (CDM)
*Coal Bed Methane, Coal Mine Methane And Ventilation Air Methane Capture And Use For Power (Electrical Or Motive) And Heat And/Or Destruction By Flaring Or Catalytic Oxidation (CDM)
*Aerobic Composting (Alberta)
*Aerobic Landfill Bioreactor Projects (Alberta)
*Coalmine Methane and Abandoned Mine Methane Capture and Destruction Projects (General Electric AES)
*Waste Water Treatment Methane Capture and Destruction Projects (General Electric AES)
Renewable Energy
*Biomass to Energy from Biomass Combustion Facilities (Alberta)
*Electricity Generation From Biomass Residues (CDM)
*Run Of River Power Generation (Alberta)
*Solar Power Generation (Alberta)
*Wind Power Generation (Alberta)
*Introduction Of A New Primary District Heating System (CDM)
*Grid Connected Electricity Generation From Renewable Sources (CDM)
Transportation
*For Gravel And Lightly Surfaced Road Re-Surfacing Projects (Alberta)
*For Freight Modal Shifting (Alberta)
Waste
*Recovery & Utilization Of Gas From Oil Wells That Would Otherwise Be Flared (CDM)
*Non-Incineration Thermal Waste Management (Alberta)
Other
*Biofuels Productions And Usage (Alberta)
*Catalytic Reductions Ofn2o Inside The Ammonia Burner Of Nitric Acid Plants (CDM)