Resilient LLP (formerly DeMarco Allan LLP)
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DT Vollmer

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Ontario to Introduce Legislation Requiring a Referendum on New Carbon Pricing

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford yesterday announced that the government intends to introduce legislation next week that would require a referendum before any new provincial carbon pricing system could be implemented in the province. The measure is expected to be part of new legislation, the “Get It Done Act” (the Act), which is set to be tabled in the upcoming legislative session starting February 20, 2024. A carbon pricing referendum would only apply to proposed provincial measures and not the federal backstop carbon pricing system under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (GGPPA) that went into effect in Ontario after the provincial government cancelled Ontario’s cap-and-trade system. Premier Ford noted that the aim of the Act is to give voters a direct say over any new provincial carbon tax, cap-and-trade system, or other carbon pricing program, and emphasized the importance of keeping costs low for residents and businesses. The Act is expected to include a host of measures that build on the government’s commitments to streamline approvals for major infrastructure projects and housing, lower costs for people and businesses, and support economic growth. Ontario’s Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy (the Minister) stated that the government made a promise to fight the federal fuel charge (see our bulletin on the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision upholding the constitutionality of the GGPPA here) and that it would continue to lead by example by “giving Ontarians certainty that carbon pricing on the backs of taxpayers is not the way forward.” The Minister suggested that “[a]ny new provincial carbon tax is unacceptable for Ontario residents who are seeing their hard-earned dollars stretched further than ever.”  The provincial government also called on the federal government to expand the temporary pause on the application of the federal fuel charge for home heating or to eliminate the federal carbon fuel charge entirely.   For further information or to discuss the contents…

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Ontario’s Electrification and Energy Transition Panel Releases Final Report

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Ontario’s Electrification and Energy Transition Panel (the Panel) has released its final report entitled Ontario’s Clean Energy Opportunity: Report of the Electrification and Energy Transition Panel (the Report). The Panel was established by the Government of Ontario to advise on opportunities for Ontario’s energy sector and identify strategic opportunities and planning reforms to help Ontario’s economy prepare for electrification and the energy transition. The Report provides a comprehensive roadmap for Ontario’s transition to a clean energy economy, emphasizing strategic planning, collaboration, innovation, and the crucial role of Indigenous partnerships.  This bulletin briefly highlights the key findings of the report and outlines the Panel’s key recommendations. Planning for electrification and the energy transition. The Report underscores the urgent and transformative shift in the global energy landscape, emphasizing the need to address climate change and support technological advancements. For example, the Report notes that Ontario faces a significant challenge regarding the future of natural gas, including increasing uncertainty about the feasibility of decarbonizing the natural gas grid and growing doubt about replacing large quantities of natural gas in a cost-effective way with cleaner alternatives such as renewable natural gas (RNG) or hydrogen. Key recommendations include: Recommendation 1 suggests that the provincial government should develop and communicate a commitment and associated policy principles for achieving a clean energy economy for Ontario by 2050 in order to provide clear direction for Ontario’s energy and economic future. Recommendation 3 provides that the provincial government should continue to seek alignment and coordination of clean energy economy objectives, standards, and policies with other governments (within and outside Canada) whenever practical and consistent with the province’s economic and policy interests. Recommendation 6 provides that in order to provide clarity to utilities, investors, and customers, the Ministry of Energy (the Ministry) should provide policy direction on the role of natural gas in Ontario’s future energy system as…

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Canada Growth Fund Announces First Transaction under CCfD and Offtake Mandate

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Canada Growth Fund (CGF) today announced that it has completed its first transaction under its mandate to use nearly half of its $15B budget for carbon contracts for difference (CCfDs) and offtake agreements. CGF is the federal agency (a subsidiary of Canada Development Investment Corporation) with a mandate to “build a portfolio of investments that catalyze substantial private sector investment in Canadian businesses and projects to help transform and grow Canada’s economy at speed and scale on the path to net-zero.” PSP Investments acts as the investment manager for CGF through a wholly-owned subsidiary. Via a hybrid security, CGF has agreed to invest $200M in Entropy Inc., a Calgary-based developer of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects. Alongside the investment, CGF and Entropy have entered into a “carbon credit offtake commitment” agreement (CCO) whereby CGF has committed to purchase up to 9M tonnes (up to 600K tonnes per annum (tpa) over a 15-year term) of TIER or equivalent carbon credits from Entropy projects. The initial project to benefit from the CCO is intended to be the Advantage Glacier Phase 2 project, drawing up to 185K tpa at an initial price of $86.50 per tonne, for a total of approximately 2.8M tonnes over the 15-year term. Upon successful deployment of the initial 600K tpa of CCO, CGF may make available a further 400K tpa of CCOs for additional Entropy CCS projects in Canada. This initial transaction notably appears to be in the form of an offtake agreement, rather than a contract for difference. The Globe and Mail reported that other project proponents, including larger oil and gas producers and members of the cement and chemical industries, have been attempting to negotiate contracts with the CGF at rates higher than the initial price of $86.50 per tonne agreed in this initial transaction. For further information or to…

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UNEP Releases 2023 Emissions Gap Report

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The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently published its annual emissions gap report: Emission Gap Report 2023: Broken Record (the Report). The Report provides an assessment of the gap between pledged and actual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions and the reductions required to align with the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement and is published annually in the lead-up to the UN Climate Change Conference. COP 28, set to start Thursday in Dubai, will mark the conclusion of the first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement, which is very likely to acknowledge that current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are insufficient to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The UNEP Report highlights the need for immediate implementation of solutions to the emissions problem. Article 6 of the Paris Agreement represents a viable mechanism to channel capital at the levels required in the time available. The Public Policy Forum, together with Resilient LLP and the International Emissions Trading Association, released a report last week titled The Missing Article: How to get Canada back in the game on Article 6. This bulletin briefly summarizes the key findings of the Report. The emissions gap in 2030 remains high. The Report indicates that current unconditional NDCs result in a 14 GtCO2e gap for a 2°C goal and a 22 GtCO2e gap for the 1.5°C goal. Full implementation of unconditional and conditional NDCs would reduce these estimates by 3 GtCO2e.   Figure: GHG emissions under different scenarios and the emissions gap in 2030 and 2035 Source: UNEP, Emissions Gap Report 2023, Figure 4.2   Likelihood of limiting warming to 1.5°C remains low. The Report found that there is only a 14% likelihood of limiting warming to 1.5°C and that current policies are likely to see temperature rise by 3°C compared to pre-industrial levels. However, implementing all unconditional and conditional pledges by 2030…

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Public Policy Forum Publishes Article 6 Report

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We are pleased to announce the release of an Article 6 report published by Public Policy Forum, authored by Lisa DeMarco (Resilient LLP), Katie Sullivan (IETA), and Steve MacDonald (+SM). The report, entitled The Missing Article: How to Get Canada Back in the Game on Article 6, is available now on PPF’s website and sets out a pathway for Canada to maximize the opportunity and minimize the cost of energy transition through Article 6.

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