Resilient LLP (formerly DeMarco Allan LLP)
Author

DT Vollmer

Browsing

Ontario’s Minister of Energy Outlines Key Priorities

No Comments By

Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Mines (the Minister) yesterday delivered a keynote speech at the Ontario Energy Conference setting out Ontario’s energy priorities, linking new supply and infrastructure directly to the province’s industrial strategy and economic growth. This bulletin briefly summarizes the key takeaways of the Minister’s speech. Integrated Energy Plan as roadmap. The Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) was described as Ontario’s “gold star” roadmap for generation, transmission, distribution, and storage. The Minister noted that the backdrop of rising unemployment in Ontario is new generation development, with the IEP underpinning jobs, competitiveness, and industrial growth. Nuclear as a nation-building project. Ontario is proceeding with the first of four small modular reactors (SMRs) at Darlington, which has been identified as a “nation-building” initiative by the federal government. The SMR program is projected to create 18,000 construction jobs, with 80 cents of every dollar spent remaining in Canada. The Minister highlighted the economic scale of large nuclear, with a potential 10,000 MW of new capacity at Port Hope, estimated at adding $235B to Canada’s GDP along with new job creation. The Minister emphasized that there is no economic growth without net new nuclear, supporting Canada as a leading clean energy economy and positioning Ontario as leading the world on SMR. Hydro, Transmission and Storage. The Minister noted that new hydro, transmission, and storage projects are being advanced, with First Nations leadership central to future baseload supply. Four new transmission lines have been announced and were described as the largest one-time investment in a generation and essential to moving new generation to load centres. The Minister also emphasized that storage will be critical alongside nuclear and hydro. LT2 procurement and competition. The IESO’s Long-Term 2 (LT2) procurement was highlighted as good for customers, as competition is expected to reduce prices by up to 30%. The Minister emphasized the IESO’s role as forward-looking and central to procurement and system planning. IEP Natural gas policy statement. The Minister noted that for the first time,…

Read More
By

Alberta Announces Significant Updates to TIER Regulation

No Comments By

The Government of Alberta yesterday announced that it will introduce significant amendments to the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) regulation this fall. The proposed changes will (1) add on-site emission reductions investments as a compliance pathway and (2) provide flexibility for small emitters to opt out of the TIER system in 2025. Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz announced the changes in an afternoon news conference. This bulletin briefly summarizes the expected amendments and the government’s next steps. Regulatory amendments. The proposed updates to the TIER system include:  Compliance through direct investment in on-site emission reductions. Recognizing on-site emissions reduction investments as a new pathway for facilities to comply with the TIER system, in addition to the current suite of available compliance options. The government anticipates that a new standard will be developed to support the new compliance pathway, which is expected to be structured around project investments over an eight-year period (five years forward, three years back) and could include investments in projects such as the Pathways CCS project. A facility would be allowed to use this compliance pathway to fulfill up to 90% of its TIER compliance obligation. Under the current TIER regulation, a facility can meet its compliance obligation by (a) reducing on-site emissions, including by applying capture recognition tonnes (CRTs) to lower the facility’s total regulated emissions (TRE); (b) submitting emission offset credits (EOs); (c) submitting emissions performance credits (EPCs); and/or (d) purchasing fund credits by paying into the TIER Fund at the prescribed TIER Fund Price (currently frozen at $95 per tonne CO2e).  Opt-out for small facilities. Allowing smaller facilities that currently participate in the TIER system to leave or opt out. TIER applies to large facilities that emit more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2e per year, while smaller facilities have been able to opt-in to the TIER system under…

Read More
By

German Court Finds Apple Watch Not A ‘CO2-neutral Product’

No Comments By

A panel of judges of the Commerce Chamber of the Frankfurt am Main Regional Court (the Court) has released its decision barring Apple from promoting three Apple Watch models as “CO2-neutral products”. The Court granted an injunction sought by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (Environmental Action Germany), finding that advertising the watches as a “CO2-neutral product”, based in part on the purchase of carbon credits from “nature-based” projects, was misleading under German competition law. This bulletin briefly summarizes the key findings of the Court. Decision. In finding that Apple must refrain from advertising the three models of Apple Watches as a “CO2-neutral product”, the Court determined that the claims were misleading and violated s. 5(1) of the Act against Unfair Competition, which prohibits misleading business acts that are likely to induce consumers or other market participants to make a business decision that they would otherwise not have made.  Apple’s claims were based, in part, on the purchase of carbon credits from a forest project in Paraguay. However, the Court held that 75% of eucalyptus plantations in the carbon offsetting forest projects in Paraguay were only leased until 2029 and that the CO2 offsetting could therefore only be guaranteed until 2029. The Court also rejected Apple’s argument that Verra’s buffer pool account was sufficient to secure the uncertainty of lease extensions according to the VCS Standard, and noted that in the event of non-renewal of the leases, the VCS Standard only allowed Apple to continue to monitor the forest project: “The possibility of only monitoring the remote part of the project area for the remaining duration and only having the buffer account mechanism intervene in the event of loss is not a CO2 compensation measure that is equally suitable for the continuation of the forest project beyond 2029.” (translated from the original German) In finding Apple’s claims misleading to…

Read More
By

Verra and S&P Announce Major Registry Partnership

No Comments By

Verra and S&P Global Commodity Insights (S&P) yesterday announced a new partnership that will see Verra overhaul its registry using S&P’s registry-build infrastructure software. The organizations say that the partnership is a major step toward “more scalable, interoperable, and digitally integrated infrastructure” and represents collaboration between the world’s largest standards body for climate action and sustainable development and the world’s largest commodities and benchmark information provider. The new registry will roll out in two stages, with a foundational phase launching within the next six months and the second phase launching in 2026. It is expected to include: Integration, and a two-way data exchange, with the Verra Project Hub, enabling project proponents to prepare project documents and move through the full lifecycle (i.e., registration, monitoring, issuance) with less duplication and greater efficiency; Expanded digitization and system connectivity, reducing administrative burden for developers and accelerating verification and credit issuance timelines; Transaction-ready application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow for automated transfers and retirements, replacing manual processes and enabling frictionless, high-volume trading across brokers, exchanges, and marketplaces; Improved transparency and customizable reporting tools; and Foundational infrastructure for future innovations, including expanded Article 6 and CORSIA functionality and integration with various programs, governments, market participants, exchanges, insurers, and financial platforms. We anticipate that details on timelines, new access procedures, and system improvements will be announced in September. The Verra-S&P partnership follows the January 28, 2025 announcement that Winrock International’s Environmental Resources Trust (ERT), will use Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.’s (ICE’s) registry technology service, ICE GreenTrace, for its crediting programs: American Carbon Registry (ACR); the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART); and the new sectoral crediting standard in development for the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA).   For further information or to discuss the contents of this bulletin, please contact Lisa DeMarco at lisa@resilientllp.com or Jonathan McGillivray at jonathan@resilientllp.com.

Read More
By

I4PC Files Greenwashing Complaint with Alberta Securities Regulator

No Comments By

Investors for Paris Compliance (I4PC), a shareholder advocacy organization, yesterday filed a complaint with the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC), alleging that two major energy companies have engaged in misleading disclosure regarding their net zero plans. The complaint targets Cenovus Energy and Enbridge Inc., two reporting issuers that are principally regulated in Alberta. A copy of the full complaint is available here [PDF]. The complaint is based on section 92(4.1) of the Securities Act (Alberta), which prohibits reporting issuers from making misleading or untrue statements that would reasonably be expected to have a significant effect on the market price or value of a security, as well as CSA Staff Notice 51-333 Environmental Reporting Guidance and CSA Staff Notice 51-358 Reporting of Climate Change-related Risks. The complaint also makes reference to the anti-greenwashing provisions of the Competition Act that were introduced through Bill C-59. Submissions. I4PC submits that: Cenovus and Enbridge have a “core net zero contradiction” by engaging in significant fossil fuel expansion while claiming alignment with net zero; Cenovus and Enbridge have consistently failed to meet core transition metrics on net zero, particularly around capital expenditures; Cenovus and Enbridge have consistently engaged in “overly promotional disclosure regarding net zero”, both directly and via associations; and Cenovus has been allowed to foster investor uncertainty with lack of clarity regarding its net zero commitment (which I4PC expressly ties to Cenovus’ withdrawal of net-zero disclosures prompted by Bill C-59). Remedies Sought. I4PC requests that the ASC grant the following remedies:  An investigation be launched into existing and past climate disclosures of Cenovus and Enbridge to assess the accuracy and adequacy of their disclosures. Because the practices of Cenovus and Enbridge are repeated by other Alberta-registered oil and gas companies, that the investigation also consider evidence from peers and competitors. That overly promotional disclosure in relation to net…

Read More
By
Load More