B.C.’s new Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act to come into effect in January

British Columbia’s Ministry of Environment said on Friday that the province’s new Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act (GGIRCA) comes into force on Jan. 1, 2016, ensuring liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in B.C. have an emissions cap and “making them the cleanest in the world.”

The new act combines several pieces of existing greenhouse gas legislation into a single legislative framework, the environment ministry said in a statement. It includes the ability to set a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions “intensity benchmark” for regulated industries, including LNG facilities, and enables the benchmark to be met through “flexible options,” such as purchasing offsets or paying a set price per tonne of GHG emissions that would be dedicated to a technology fund. “This will uphold the province’s commitment to having the cleanest liquefied natural gas facilities in the world,” the statement said.

Three regulations necessary to implement the Act are in effect Jan. 1, 2016: the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Regulation; the Greenhouse Gas Emission Administrative Penalties and Appeals Regulation; and the Greenhouse Gas Emission Control Regulation.

The Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Regulation replaces the existing industrial Reporting Regulation and adds compliance reporting requirements, including specific requirements for LNG operations. Industrial operations will continue to report GHG emissions as they have since 2010, the ministry said.

The Greenhouse Gas Emission Administrative Penalties and Appeals Regulation establishes the process for when, how much, and under what conditions administrative penalties may be levied for non-compliance with the act or regulations. Fines range from $200,000 to a maximum of $1.5 million and a two-year prison term, or both.

The Greenhouse Gas Emission Control Regulation establishes the BC Carbon Registry and sets criteria for developing emission offsets issued by the province, the release said. The regulation also establishes the price ($25) for funded units issued under the act that would go towards a technology fund. Regulated operations, such as LNG operations, will purchase offsets from the market or funded units from government to meet emission limits.

Funded unit revenue that goes to a technology fund will also support the development of clean technologies with significant potential to reduce B.C.’s emissions over the long-term, the release said.

“LNG will play a significant role in the global climate solution as countries look for a cleaner, transition fuel to replace dirty fossil fuels like coal and gradually move towards 100% renewables,” said B.C. Minister of Environment Mary Polak in the release. “When nations choose LNG from British Columbia they will do so knowing ours is produced in the most environmentally conscious way. No other LNG-producing jurisdiction on the planet meets our high standards.”