Archived: Technical guidance on reporting greenhouse gas emissions: chapter 3

3. Basic Concepts for Reporting Emissions

3.1 Relationship with UNFCCC and IPCC

The federal government, specifically Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), is responsible for developing and reporting a reliable, accurate and timely National Greenhouse Gas Inventory as part of its obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC is the first international legal instrument that deals directly with climate change^Footnote2. To fulfill its obligations, Canada must estimate and report its national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the UNFCCC according to the manner, format and frequency dictated by the UNFCCC Reporting Guidelines^Footnote3. The Guidelines include reference to the following key technical document that was developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for estimating GHG emissions^Footnote4:

• 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC, 2006)^Footnote5

Under the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Program (GHGRP), currently no specific estimation methods are prescribed. Reporters can choose the quantification methodologies most appropriate for their own particular industry or application. However, reporting facilities must use methods for estimating emissions that are consistent with the applicable methods set out in the UNFCCC Reporting Guidelines.

The IPCC Guidelines mentioned above describe various approaches to estimating GHG emissions at the national level, which can be applied at the facility level.

3.2 Key Elements in Calculating Emissions

The following four methods are used to determine GHG emissions: monitoring and direct measurement, mass balance, emission factors, and engineering estimates.

The following key characteristics of the IPCC Guidelines are useful for reporters when calculating their facility’s GHG emissions:

1. The availability of a number of differing “tiers” of calculation methods
   For various categories of emission sources, there are several ways of calculating the emissions, described as tiers (e.g., Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3), and each tier has an associated increasing level of detail and accuracy (e.g., a Tier 2 method is considered more accurate than a Tier 1 method).
2. The use of specific emission factors or data
   An emission factor is a value that quantifies emissions associated with an activity (e.g., fuel combustion). To evaluate GHG emissions, “default emission factors” are provided for many different fuels and activities. These default emission factors are considered to be less accurate than country-specific factors and even less accurate than process-specific factors. Reporters should use Canada-specific emission factors^Footnote6  or, better yet, industry-specific or technology-specific ones, where available. For example, the combustion of natural gas in a boiler results in emissions of GHGs such as Carbon monoxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄)and nitrous oxide (N₂O). Each has published emission factors that relate its emission rates to quantities of natural gas burned. To determine emissions, a facility would need to determine the total quantity of natural gas consumed during the calendar year (using billing records or meter reading) and multiply this quantity by the emission factor for each GHG. Canada’s latest inventory report provides up-to-date Canada-specific emission factors and information to assist in quantifying emissions.
3. A focus on the prioritization of effort
   The IPCC suggests that the most effort on quantifying emissions should be spent on those sources that are the most critical: those that make up the largest quantity, are responsible for the greatest increase or decrease, or have the highest level of uncertainty associated with them.

Although comprehensive and rigorous, the IPCC Guidelines provide a flexible approach to GHG calculation procedures. The prioritization of emission sources of greatest importance is also emphasized. In prioritizing the work, these guidelines recognize that the more specific the emission factor or methodology (in terms of geography, facility or process), the better the emission estimate should be.

In the spirit of the IPCC Guidelines, reporters should prioritize their efforts when calculating their GHG emissions. This concept can be applied by identifying the emission sources of greatest significance at the facility and using a higher level of effort when calculating emissions from these sources. Since these emission sources have a greater impact on the totals, the use of more detailed methods would be appropriate. For example, for significant sources, efforts could be focused on using available facility- or process-specific emission factors or estimation methods, as opposed to general or default emission factors or estimation methods. Applying a lower level of effort (i.e., less detailed methods) to calculate emissions for less significant sources would minimize the impact on the level of accuracy.

Since no absolute quantification standards are prescribed at this point, reporters can be flexible in their choice of emission calculation procedures. It is recognized that the approaches chosen will depend to a certain extent on the information available for the facility.

3.3 Emissions from Biomass

3.3.1 Combustion of Biomass

In accordance with UNFCCC Reporting Guidelines, special consideration is necessary when reporting CO₂ emissions from biomass in national inventories to ensure that there is no double counting. These guidelines require the reporting (although not the counting) of CO₂ emissions resulting from the combustion of biomass materials. These emissions are not included in the national total, nor are the emissions from the reverse process (“sinks”). That is, neither the CO₂ emitted by combusted biomass nor that absorbed by growing biomass is included in the national total.

In order to be consistent with national inventory reporting, reporters to the GHGRP are required to report CO₂ emissions from biomass combustion. However, these emissions are listed separately and not included in the emission totals. This explicit reporting of CO₂ emissions from biomass-based combustion has the benefits of:

• reminding reporters that these emissions need to be reported internationally;
• ensuring that CO₂ emissions from biomass are currently not counted in the totals; and
• demonstrating the quantity of atmospheric CO₂ loading that could be offset by biomass growth.

On the other hand, as is required under the IPCC Guidelines, facilities must report and count CH₄ and N₂O emissions from biomass combustion. There is no reverse, biogenic mechanism by which replacement biomass removes these emissions from the atmosphere. Therefore, they must be included in the GHG totals in the same way as CH₄ and N₂O emissions from any other material combusted.

It follows that CO₂ emissions from the biomass portion of waste that may be incinerated on site are to be reported separately but are not counted in the emission totals. See Section 4.2.9 for more details.

3.3.2 Non-combustion of Biomass

Under the GHGRP, emissions from the decomposition of biomass in waste and wastewater must be reported. Reported and counted emissions should include CH₄ and N₂O. Aerobic decomposition of biomass in waste can emit substantial quantities of CO₂, but these emissions need not be reported. Similarly, CO₂ emissions generated from the fermentation of biomass materials (e.g., corn or wheat) are not to be reported. The production of ethanol is an example of this type of fermentation process.

Reporting facilities will find additional details in Section 4.2.9 on how to handle emissions from biomass.

3.4 Review and Verification

ECCC reviews the information submitted by facilities and conducts a number of data quality checks of the submitted data for compliance purposes and for completeness. ECCC also follows up with individual facilities if there are any clarifications needed regarding their data. Reporters are required to keep copies of the requested information, together with any calculations, measurements and other data on which the information is based, at the facility to which it relates or at that facility’s parent company, located in Canada. All information must be kept for a period of three years from the date the report must be submitted.

Reporters are also required to submit a Statement of Certification, signed by an authorized signing officer, stating that the information submitted is true, accurate and complete.

Companies that meet reporting requirements but fail to report, fail to report on time, or knowingly submit false or misleading information, face penalties as listed under sections 272 and 273 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999). Facilities that did not meet the reporting criteria in previous years should review their status to determine whether they are required to report for the current reporting year.

Currently, there are no specific requirements for a facility to have its emissions verified by a third party. The information reported by a facility should nevertheless be verifiable, which means that any information that would allow a facility’s emissions to be verified by the government or a third party certified by the government to carry out such verifications should be retained. Facilities can choose to have their emissions verified by a third party if they wish.