In March 2004, the Government of Canada issued notice, pursuant to Section 46(1) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA 1999) that reporting of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions would be required for the year 2004.

Reporting for this first phase is mandatory for all facilities that emit 100,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more in 2004 (CO2 equivalent is the sum of the emissions of six gases or gas species multiplied by their respective global warming potential). It is up to individual facilities to determine if they meet the reporting threshold.

The government has not prescribed estimation protocols for Phase I and it is up to reporting facilities to determine the most appropriate protocols, although the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines are suggested as a default methodology. All emission sources must be evaluated including:

• stationary combustion
• industrial processes
• fugitive emissions
• transportation that is integral to the operations
• landfills
• incinerators and biomass combustion emissions

Phase I reporting is required for the period of January 1, 2004- December 31, 2004 and is due on June 1, 2005.

Reporting will be done electronically to Statistics Canada through www.ghgreporting.gc.ca. Facilities can register online immediately and the begin reporting March 15, 2005.

The Federal system will be immediately linked to Alberta's reporting requirements under the Alberta Climate Change and Emissions Management Act. For the near future Ontario emitters of GHGs will have to report under both the Federal GHG system and Ontario's Regulation 127.