Setting the record straight on Alberta tillage offsets
November 23, 2009
There seems to be some confusion over how long early action tillage offsets are good for. Early action offsets refers to greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets created from actions taken since January 1, 2002. Tillage based GHG offsets have a ten (10) year credit period which means that GHG offsets can be created from 2002 data until 2011.
The Climate Change and Emissions Management Act of 2007 created the Alberta GHG reduction scheme that included GHG offsets as a compliance option for regulated entities, or large final emitters (LFEs). The regulations under the Act, or Specified Gas Emitters Regulation (SGER), describes the implementation of the Act and gives general guidance on what qualifies as an offset and in particular allows for GHG offset projects to earn credits from 2002. Specific guidance on the creation of GHG offsets can be found in "Offset Credit Project Guidance Document, February 2008, Version 2.1, Alberta Environment" (available at http://environment.gov.ab.ca/info/library/7915.pdf ) and it would seem very clear just how long tillage based GHG offsets can be created.
The detailed guidance provided for offset projects sets out the credit duration period for GHG offsets. The guidance very clearly indicates that tillage management projects have a "credit duration period of 20 years" which means as the law stands today, tillage management offsets will be recognized for 20 years from 2002, or 2021. There are two distinct 10 year credit periods for the tillage protocol: 1) from 2002 to 2011 and, 2) from 2012 to 2021. The coefficients will likely be adjusted by no-till and reduced till adoption levels at the 2011 period (likely by 2011 census rates), and new coefficients will be used for the next 10 year period. This means that GHG offsets can be created from 2002 data until the end of 2011 using the current coefficients in the tillage protocol to calculate GHG offsets.
The law and guidance on the time periods for GHG offsets created from tillage management practices appear to be very clear. This can always change as Canada moves forward to develop a continental carbon market and requires Alberta to harmonize with that strategy. However, before any changes are made to the Alberta GHG offset system, assurances have been given that notice and industry consultations will occur. Since there have been no notices issued at this point in time and Canada has no Federal GHG reduction plan, there is no reason to believe that the current system is about to change anytime soon.
Preferred Carbon has received a significant number of inquiries from farmers and others concerned over the expiry of tillage management offsets based on early action. The SGER guidance details the timelines for early action GHG offsets created from tillage management practices and this is a detail all aggregators should understand. If you are being contacted by aggregators suggesting that your early action offsets are about to expire, you are being misled.
If you want further clarity on this issue, please contact Robyn Kuhn, Alberta Environment at (780) 644-6958, or Robyn.Kuhn@gov.ab.ca
Reference: Bruce Love, Preferred Carbon
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author only and are not intended to represent financial advice
