Ontario Unveils Its Greenhouse Gas Cap & Trade Program

The Province of Ontario unveiled its proposed cap and trade program in conjunction with the February 24, 2016 Provincial Budget – describing climate change as "one of the most urgent issues of our time".

Bill 172, the Climate Change Mitigation and Low-Carbon Economy Act, 2016 will, if passed, enshrine Ontario's greenhouse gas ("GHG") emission reduction targets of 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, 37 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050. The program's objective is to facilitate the achievement of these reduction targets by setting a limit (a cap) on emissions from industries in four broad categories: large industrial emitters, certain natural gas distributors, certain petroleum product suppliers, and certain importers of electricity into Ontario. The program is structured with three year compliance periods. The first compliance period is January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2020. Successive three year compliance periods will