Full Steam Ahead: Ontario Releases Draft Cap And Trade Regulations And Revised Guideline For GHG Reporting

The Ontario government has released its first regulation – The Cap and Trade Program Regulation (the Draft Regulation) – under the proposed Climate Change Mitigation and Low-Carbon Economy Act, 2016 (the Act, which is discussed in further detail here). The Draft Regulation sets into motion Ontario's plan to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 15% below 1990 levels by 2020, 37% below 1990 levels by 2030, and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. While some details of the cap-and-trade system remain to be worked out by future regulations, including an offset regulation to be released later in 2016, the Draft Regulation sets out important details such as proposed caps, compliance periods, rules related to registration and participation in the cap-and-trade system, description of capped and uncapped participants in the system, and the allocation of allowances including early action credits and free allowances. A revised Guideline for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting (th