Resilient LLP (formerly DeMarco Allan LLP)
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DT Vollmer

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Climate-related Amendments to the Competition Act Become Law as Bill C-59 Receives Royal Assent

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The Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023 (Bill C-59) yesterday received royal assent, implementing (1) key climate-related “truth-in-advertising” amendments to the Competition Act and (2) two important investment tax credits (ITCs) for clean technology and carbon capture utilization and storage. Omnibus Bill C-59 was introduced in the House of Commons in November 2023 (and amended several times since then) to implement certain provisions of the Fall Economic Statement (FES) tabled in Parliament in November 2023 (see our earlier bulletin here) and certain provisions of the budget tabled in March 2023 (Budget 2023) (see our earlier bulletin here). This bulletin summarizes the climate-related amendments to the Competition Act. A subsequent bulletin will cover the ITCs. Deceptive marketing practices. Part VII.1 of the Competition Act sets out a number of deceptive marketing practices that are considered “reviewable conduct” under the legislation, and therefore subject to scrutiny by the Competition Tribunal and the courts and related administrative remedies. For example, section 74.01(1)(a) contains a general prohibition on representations to the public that are materially false or misleading, and made for the purpose of promoting the supply or use of a product or a business interest (directly or indirectly). Where the Competition Tribunal or a court determines that a corporation is engaging (or has engaged) in reviewable conduct, it may order the corporation: not to engage in the conduct or substantially similar reviewable conduct; to publish a notice providing a description of the reviewable conduct and related details; and to pay an administrative monetary penalty in an amount not exceeding the greater of $10M (and, for each subsequent order, $15M) and three times the value of the benefit derived from the deceptive conduct (or 3% of the corporation’s annual worldwide gross revenues, if such an amount cannot be reasonably determined). Bill C-59 amendments. The…

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ECCC Publishes 2030 Nature Strategy and Nature Accountability Bill

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Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) on Thursday published Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy: Halting and Reversing Biodiversity Loss in Canada (the Strategy) alongside proposed legislation titled the Nature Accountability Act (the Bill), which received its first reading in the House of Commons last week. The Strategy outlines how Canada will implement its nature protection goals under the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) (see our earlier bulletin here), building on existing initiatives across Canada, and defining clear areas of action and improvement. The Bill aims to enshrine the government’s commitment to protecting nature in legislation.    At the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) on biological diversity in Montreal in 2022, Canada committed to protecting 30 per cent of its land and water by 2030, and putting nature on a recovery path by 2050. Canada’s Strategy is mandated to outline the actions that will be taken to achieve these goals.   This bulletin briefly summarizes the Strategy and the Bill.   The 2030 Nature Strategy:   With the aim of ensuring an inclusive, adaptable and evidence-based pathway, the Strategy sets out six pillars: Recognize and uphold Indigenous rights. Honour Indigenous peoples’ roles as original caretakers of the land, waters, and ice, and advance reconciliation through the protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); Ensure a whole-of-society approach. Foster policy coherence and collective action across government, society, and industries; Support a resilient economy. Build a resilient economy that acknowledges the intrinsic link between prosperity and healthy environment; Adopt flexible community-based approaches. Support regional differences, empower communities, and adopt flexible approaches that reflect local needs; Use the best available science and equal weight to Western and Indigenous Knowledge. Combine Western science and Indigenous Knowledge to inform decision-making and share information transparently; and  Ensure a holistic approach. Embrace…

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ICVCM Announces First CCP-Approved Carbon Credit Methodologies

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The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) today announced the first seven carbon-crediting methodologies that meet its high-integrity Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) (see our earlier bulletin on the CCPs here). The ICVCM assesses categories of carbon credit projects (methodologies and/or protocols) to determine whether they can be labelled as “CCP-Approved” and used by a “CCP-Eligible” program, which currently includes the American Carbon Registry (ACR), Architecture for REDD+ Transaction TREES, Climate Action Reserve (CAR), Gold Standard (GS), and Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). The ICVCM noted that the CCP label can now be used on an estimated 27M carbon credits issued from the two categories of CCP-Approved methodologies. The approval of the methodologies follows the Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement last week setting out principles for high-integrity voluntary carbon markets that relied heavily on the CCPs and other carbon crediting certification standards (see our earlier bulletin here).   This bulletin sets out the approved methodologies and provides an update on the assessment of other categories of carbon credits by the ICVCM:   Approved Methodologies The ICVCM approved the following ozone depleting substances (ODS) and landfill gas (LFG) methodologies as meeting the CCP criteria and rules, enabling the respective CCP-Eligible programs to issue CCP-labelled carbon credits from eligible projects. ODS methodologies. The following ODS methodologies are CCP-Approved: ACR’s Destruction of ODS from International Sources version 1.0;  CAR’s Article 5 ODS Project Protocol versions 1-2; and CAR’s U.S. ODS Project Protocol versions 1-2.  LFG methodologies. The following LFG methodologies are CCP-Approved: the Clean Development Mechanism’s (CDM) ACM0001 – Flaring or use of Landfill Gas versions 15-19, used by Verra and GS;  CDM’s AMS iii G – Landfill Methane Recovery version 10, used by Verra and GS;  ACR’s Landfill Gas Destruction and Beneficial Use Projects version 1-2; and  CAR’s US Landfill Protocol version 6.  Ongoing assessment of methodologies through Multi-Stakeholder Working Groups (MSWG). ICVCM indicated that it continues to conduct internal and MSWG reviews of the following six…

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U.S. Department of Energy Announces Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize Phase 1 Semi-finalists

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Tuesday announced the 24 semi-finalists selected for the Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Purchase Pilot Prize (the Prize). The Prize will ultimately provide up to $35M in the form of CDR Purchase Agreements from the DOE. The Phase 1 semi-finalists will each receive $50K to scale CDR approaches across four pathways: (i) direct air capture (DAC) with storage; (ii) biomass with carbon removal and storage; (iii) enhanced rock weathering and mineralization; and (iv) planned or managed carbon sinks. The Prize aims to develop CDR markets, demonstrate rigorous monitoring practices, and model workforce and community benefits. The Phase 1 semi-finalists under each category of the Prize are: DAC with Storage Avnos, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA). Hybrid DAC technology that produces 5 tons of water per ton of CO2 captured, while eliminating external heat input. Delivery proposal: 3,000 CDR credits. Carbon America (Arvada, CO). Carbon America and Global Thermostat leverage Colorado’s diverse assets to demonstrate a scalable model for DAC-powered carbon dioxide removal. Delivery proposal: 3,400 CDR credits.  CarbonCapture, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA). Stores captured carbon in low-carbon concrete. Delivery proposal: 3,333 CDR credits. Climeworks (Austin, TX). Project Cypress, a DAC plus storage project in Louisiana, builds on the company’s Mammoth plant to reach a megaton scale by 2030. Delivery proposal: 3,500 CDR credits. Global Thermostat and Fervo Energy (Brighton, CO). Building a high efficiency, zero-carbon energy, integrated DAC, and geothermal deployment. Delivery proposal: 3,500 CDR credits.    Heirloom (Brisbane, CA). Employs carbon mineralization (using limestone as a feedstock) to remove CO2 from the air, and then permanently store it. Delivery proposal: 3,030 CDR credits. 1PointFive (Houston, TX). The Stratos DAC facility will capture up to 500K MtCO2/year when fully operational. Delivery proposal: 3,861 CDR credits.  280 Earth (Palo Alto, CA). Uses DAC technology designed for modularity and scalability, integrating mechanical and…

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Biden-⁠Harris Administration Launches Federal-State Initiative to Modernize Power Grid

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The Biden-Harris Administration (the Administration) yesterday launched the Federal-State Modern Grid Deployment Initiative (the Initiative), along with an accompanying fact sheet. The Initiative brings together states, federal entities, and U.S. power sector stakeholders to expand grid capacity and build modern grid capabilities on both new and existing transmission and distribution lines. Implementing these solutions is expected to increase integration of renewables and clean energy sources, with the U.S. set to build more new electric generation capacity than it has in 20 years (96% of it being clean energy). The Initiative is intended to complement last month’s announcement of a public-private mobilization to upgrade 100,000 miles of existing transmission lines over the next five years. This bulletin briefly summarizes the Initiative’s key state and federal commitments: Mutual federal-state commitments. The Initiative aims to address the challenges and opportunities posed by increased load growth, a rapidly evolving energy landscape, aging infrastructure, and new grid-enhancing technologies while ensuring reliable, clean, and affordable energy for consumers. The U.S. government and participating states jointly commit to: deploy advanced grid technologies to expand capacity and enhance both new and existing transmission and distribution lines; recognize that modern grid technologies are essential for a comprehensive energy strategy, complementing the need to build out new transmission and distribution lines; work to increase state and federal cooperation for both intraregional and interregional transmission planning efforts; work collaboratively with solution providers, industry, labour organizations, and trusted validators to build a diverse workforce and ensure grid owners and operators have access to training and equipmentneeded to support modern technology deployment; facilitate collaboration among stakeholders and communities to share how to improve siting, regulatory, and economic structures most effectively; and explore opportunities to establish innovative partnership models, pool resources, and jointly plan transmission and distribution infrastructure development. State commitments. 21 state governments,…

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