Greenhouse Gas Registries and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Registry RGGR

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Greenhouse Gas Registriesand theRegional
Greenhouse Gas Registry (RGGR)

• Western Regional Air Partnership
• Information Sharing Meeting on Climate Change
• Santa Fe NM August 25-26 2005

Ken Colburn Center for Climate Strategies
(CCS) kcolburn_at_symbioticstrategies.com 617-784-697
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GHG Registry Evolution
CA 2000

WI 2000
NH 1999

• Baseline protection (vs. no good deed goes
  unpunished)
• Encourage early reductions
• Start learning to quantify GHGs do inventories
  etc.
• Multiple pollutants

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Idea Spread Not Surprisingly

• ED Environment Resources Trust
• Emissions brokers (CO2e Evolution NatSource)
• Other states
• Also EU National Registers under Kyoto
• Regional Greenhouse Gas Registry (RGGR)
• CCX a prospective trading floor
• New improved 1605b ()

so has much confusion
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Voluntary Mandatory Much Different Animals

• Voluntary Registry provides a central
  independent repository for credible information
  about emissions activities (e.g. for
  recognition encouragement baseline protection)
• Mandatory Cap and Trade Registry performs a
  critical data management and accounting role and
  serves as a ledger of all transactions
  information / enforcement

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Regional Greenhouse Gas Registry (RGGR)

• NEG-ECP Plan called for developing a regional
  emissions trading registry and methods for
  baseline creation and credit generation to
• (a) provide baseline protection and
• (b) gain experience in certifying credits and
  trading regionally
• NESCAUM started on a regional voluntary registry
  in 2003 coordinating with major existing efforts
• WRI / WBCSD GHG Protocol
• CCAR
• RGGI changed all that (regulatory driver)
• Voluntary Mandatory Emissions/Allowances
  Tracking
• Facility-level data Enforcement quality data
  required
• Data custody storage issues offsets etc.

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Regional Greenhouse Gas Registry (RGGR)
Trying to fill three Policy Spaces
GHG Registry (e.g. RGGR)
Regulatory
Voluntary
Cap Trade (RGGI)
Mandatory Reporting
Projects (Offsets)
Entity-wide
Allowance Tracking
Emissions Tracking
Mechanism Multi-state MOU or through a new
regional organization
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Complex Not to Be Entered Into Lightly (1)

• Function Purpose
• Design components (sectors etc.)
• Geographical boundaries (state nation globe)
• Organizational boundaries (entity facility)
• Ownership / control
• Owner vs. operator
• Minority ownership / consolidation
• Gases covered
• Base year
• Offsets / project-based (never been done)

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Complex Not to Be Entered Into Lightly (2)

• Operational boundaries
• Sources covered
• Direct indirect emissions (upstream)
• Frequency of reporting
• Verification (3rd party certification)
• De minimis emissions
• Quantification requirements / tools
• Software data storage management
• Enforcement
• Public access / transparency

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Good News Need Not Fear

• Lots of good information now and marketplace of
  ideas about registries is rapidly converging
• EU Emission Trading Scheme will work out many
  remaining kinks
• e.g. Legal financial operational issues
• Compass points clearly toward mandatory U.S.
  programs (has design ramifications)
• Bingaman-Domenici Sense of the Senate
  Resolution
• Quantification tools approaches are rapidly
  becoming standardized (WRI ISO etc.)
• Not rocket science

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Registries Other Thoughts

• Concern Interest may be eclipsing capacity
• Not much pre-existing institutional capacity
• Only significant funding source is the states
  themselves
• Deadlines (e.g. CT 1/1/2006) looming
• Advance or complicate federal action
• Both but mostly spur it
• Sources will seek greater consistency (e.g.
  federal)
• Will help build toward a market
• International linkages may impact intransigence
• Future states will have precedent rationale and
  a better path to follow
• Suggestion Dont look to 1605(b)
• Recent improvements but still several fatal flaws

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Key Conclusions

• Registry / Tracking capability is vital to the
  success of future regulatory climate efforts by
  states
• Many non-regulatory efforts available
• A key part of the GHG learning curve
• Bottom line for states Proceed but do so
  carefully and collaboratively
• Complex but doable
• Ideal topic for multi-state collaboration