Federal offset protocol: Direct air carbon dioxide capture and geological storage
Capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air and permanently storing it in geological formations under the ground can reduce the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and mitigate climate change.
The Direct Air Carbon Dioxide Capture and Geological Storage (DACCS) federal offset protocol will create an incentive for proponents to undertake projects that capture CO2 directly from the atmosphere and store it in subsurface geological formations. These activities will generate greenhouse gases (GHG) removals for which federal offset credits may be issued under the Canadian Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System Regulations (Regulations).
A project under this protocol can only generate GHG removals from CO2 captured directly from the atmosphere that:
- is stored in onshore, subsurface geological formations
- takes place on land that is covered by a provincial or territorial geological CO2 storage regulatory framework
GHG removals cannot be generated from either:
- the storage of CO2 captured at an emission source (e.g. industrial facility)
- the storage of CO2 in any materials or products (e.g. concrete or fuel)
- the use of CO2 for the purposes of enhanced oil recovery
The preliminary draft protocol was developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) with input from a team of external technical experts, including those with expertise in CO2 capture and storage technology and project implementation, GHG quantification, verification, offset protocol development, and relevant academic research, as well as from experts in the Government of Canada, provinces and territories.
ECCC is also exploring ways to enable projects on provincial Crown land and public land in the territories through a separate engagement process, with a focus on requirements for authorization of project activities, entitlement to claim federal offset credits and Indigenous consent. In addition, feedback received from the discussion paper published in summer 2024 Facilitating Projects on Crown and Public Lands in Canada's Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System will help inform these considerations.
Comment period on the preliminary draft protocol
ECCC has published the preliminary draft Direct Air Carbon Dioxide Capture and Geological Storage (DACCS) federal offset protocol for a 60-day comment period.
DACCS is a relatively new offset project type, in a still evolving space. While a lot of protocol development work has been conducted, some important elements of this preliminary draft protocol still require further elaboration. This includes how the federal offset protocol can work coherently with provincial regulatory frameworks for CO2 geological storage; determination of permanence monitoring requirements based on risk of reversals; and how best to encourage the use of renewable energy. These are noted by text boxes providing contextual information and questions on which ECCC is seeking specific comment.
The comments received on the preliminary draft protocol will help inform the final design of the DACCS protocol and possible regulatory amendments to the Regulations in the future.
The deadline for comments on this preliminary draft protocol is March 28, 2025. To submit comments, please send them by email to the Offsets and Emissions Trading Section at: creditscompensatoires-offsets@ec.gc.ca.
Access the preliminary draft protocol
Preliminary draft Direct air carbon dioxide capture and geological storage, version 1.0
Other resources
A webinar will be held on February 19, 2025, to present an overview of the preliminary draft protocol and to answer questions. Information on how to register for the webinar can be found in the Highlights section on the Protocols page.
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