Please see the Auction details section for information on the June 2020 Auction.

Key dates

April 9, 2020 – Registration opens for first auction

May 1, 2020 – Deadline for 2020 GHG report and verification

May 11, 2020 – Registration closes for first auction

May 29, 2020 – Bid guarantees due for first auction

June 10, 2020 – First auction for mandatory participants

October 1, 2020 – Deadline for new mandatory participants to register and apply for accounts

October 3, 2020 – Registration opens for second auction

November 2, 2020 – Registration closes for second auction

November 20, 2020 – Bid guarantees due for second auction

December 2, 2020 – Second auction for mandatory participants

Legislation

Amendments to the Environment Act allow government to create the cap-and-trade program and regulations to support it.

Cap-and-trade program regulations

The Cap-and-Trade Program Regulations and framework document outline how the program works. They include greenhouse gas emission caps, rules for distributing, buying and selling greenhouse gas allowances, and other details.

Reporting emissions and participating in cap and trade

The following types of companies must report their greenhouse gas emissions, get them verified by a third party, and participate in the cap-and-trade program:

Facilities that generate 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions or more per year from one or more specified activities

Petroleum product suppliers that first place or produce 200 litres of fuel or more per year for consumption in the Nova Scotia market

Natural gas distributers that deliver natural gas for consumption in Nova Scotia that, when combusted, produces 10,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions or more per year

Electricity importers with 10,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions or more per year from imported electricity consumed in Nova Scotia

Reporting regulations

The rules for reporting greenhouse gas emissions are outlined in:

Greenhouse gas emission data for 2017 and 2018 reported under these regulations are available.

Petroleum product pricing regulations

Amendments to the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulations allow the Utility and Review Board to apply the carbon price to gas and diesel.



Program participants

The following are mandatory cap-and-trade program participants:

Legal name CITSS Entity ID GHG ID Canadian Enterprise Gas Products Ltd NS2865 20020 Canadian National Railway NS2879 20001 Cape D’or Holdings Limited NS2885 20003 Elbow River Marketing Ltd. NS2892 20005 ExxonMobil Canada Properties as Operator of the Sable Project NS2938 10001, 20006 Heritage Gas Limited NS2869 30002 Highlands Fuel Delivery GP NS2895 20007 Imperial Oil NS2881 20008 Irving Oil Commercial GP NS2893 20009, 30003 Irving Oil Marketing GP NS2894 20010 Kiros Energy Marketing ULC NS2987 20025 Lafarge Canada Inc NS2882 10003 Maritimes Northeast Pipeline LP NS2955 30001 NGL Supply Co. Ltd. NS2856 20011 Northern Pulp Nova Scotia Corporation NS2883 10004 Nova Scotia Power Inc NS2880 10005, 10006, 10007, 10008, 10009, 40001 Parkland Fuel Corporation NS2867 20012 Plains Midstream Canada ULC NS2860 20014 Scotia Propane Limited NS2982 20023 Sobeys Atlantic Fuel Co. NS2910 20015 Sterling Fuels NS2927 20022 Suncor Energy Products Partnership NS2859 20016 Superior Plus LP NS2873 20017 Supreme Tank NS2990 20026 Valero Energy Inc. NS2870 20018 Wilson Fuel Company Limited NS2884 20019

Reporting emissions

Companies must use the standard reporting form to submit greenhouse gas emissions reports and any additional information listed in the regulations and standards to Nova Scotia Environment.

Reporting via SWIM is preferred. Follow the instructions to register on SWIM. You must register before you can use it. Otherwise, reports can be submitted to GHGreporting@novascotia.ca.

Greenhouse gas emissions reports must be verified by an accredited third-party organization. Lists of eligible verification bodies are available at: Standards Council of Canada (SCC) American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

An attestation form must accompany greenhouse gas emissions reports for fuels sold to a facility that is participating in Nova Scotia’s cap-and-trade program.

This attestation form may also be used to document fuels that are exported outside of Nova Scotia or used exclusively in aviation or marine applications. Other documentation deemed acceptable by the verification body may also be used.

Registering in the program

Registration for the cap-and-trade program is now open. Participating companies must register using the Compliance Instrument Tracking System Service (CITSS)

Registration requirements are outlined in Section 5 of the Cap-and-Trade Program Regulations. Forms and documents required for each part of the registration process are below, along with guidance on how to complete the registration:

Part 1 – user registration

Part 2 – account application

Please send any questions about the registration process to capandtradehelp@novascotia.ca

Participating in auctions

The next auction will be held on December 2, 2020

The province will hold 2 auctions in 2020. 60 days before an auction, the province will provide notice with details about participating in the event. Mandatory participants registered in the program may take part in an auction of emission allowances. Each auction participant must register as a bidder no later than 30 days before the auction and submit a financial guarantee to the province no later than 12 days before the auction.

Auctions will be administered through CITSS and Auction Platform. Each auction will have a single round of bidding using sealed bids. The emission allowances will be auctioned in lots of 1,000 emission allowances. The minimum price will be $20 per emission allowance for auctions held in 2020. For each year after 2020, the minimum price will increase by 5% plus inflation.

Further details about auctions are available in the resources below:

Auction Notices and Results

June 10, 2020

Public Proceeds Report