Ontario Cap-And-Trade Program Design Options Released

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) has released a discussion paper titled Cap-and-Trade Program Design Options, providing the public with its first detailed look at the design options being considered for the province's anticipated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cap-and-trade system.

What You Need To Know

• The MOECC is accepting comments on the discussion paper until December 16, and will be incorporating that feedback into draft cap-and-trade regulations that are expected to be released in early 2016.
• Several key issues must be resolved before then, such as determining:
• • who will be responsible for certain GHG emissions, particularly in the energy sector where a cap can be imposed on the end-users of fossil fuels (such as natural-gas fired generators) or upstream on the importers and distributors of those fuels;