Ontario's Transition To Emissions Performance Standards (EPS) Program – December 15th Pricing Deadline Fast Approaching

Ontario's Emissions Performance Standards ("EPS") program began replacing the federal Output-Based Pricing System ("OBPS") for greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions regulation on January 1, 2022. On October 22, 2021, Ontario amended two regulations under the Ontario Environmental Protection Act ("EPA") in order to facilitate the transition: the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Performance Standards regulation ("EPS Regulation") and the Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Quantification, Reporting and Verification regulation ("Reporting Regulation") (collectively with EPS Regulation, the "Amendments").

In addition to preventing Ontario industrial sites from being taxed twice for the same emissions under the EPS program and the OBPS, the Amendments were designed to ensure that there is no pricing gap for emissions during the transition period. Simply said, payment obligations under the OBPS will only be with respect to emissions up to December 31, 2021, even if reporting periods