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Exploring Emissions Measurement, Monitoring & Reporting as a Linking Issue. Franz T. Litz Senior Fellow. WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE. Link so long as “a ton is a ton” Emissions Measurement, Monitoring and Reporting are “Bedrock” Cap-and-Trade Elements
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Exploring Emissions Measurement, Monitoring & Reporting as a Linking Issue Franz T. LitzSenior Fellow WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE
Link so long as “a ton is a ton” • Emissions Measurement, Monitoring and Reporting are “Bedrock” Cap-and-Trade Elements • Emerging load-based model in electricity context presents good test for “linkability” Initial Thoughts 2
Point of regulation is the source of emissions, e.g., power plant. • All existing emissions cap-and-trade programs are emissions source-based. Emissions Source-Based 3
Emissions measured, monitored & reported at unit level: • continuous emissions monitors (CEMs) • alternative using fuel factors. • Emissions reported electronically to centralized registry. • Quality checked and quality assured. • Transparent and publicly available. Emissions Source-Based 4
Electricity sector option • Designed to increase coverage over emissions-based approach, where electricity imports are or may become significant • Point of regulation is the load-serving entity or retail provider of electricity • LSEs/retail providers must surrender sufficient allowances to cover the emissions attributable to the power delivered. Load-Based Design 5
Electrons do not carry emissions “tracer” • Precise mix of electricity supply changes depending on a number of factors (weather, time of year, time of day, etc.) • Emissions attributes of electricity must be tracked from non-jurisdictional generator to retail provider • Assessing these “emissions charges” is key challenge of load-based system Load-Based Emissions Tracking 6
All power plants 25 MW+ measure, monitor and report emissions to EPA on a quarterly basis. • Are these data sufficiently robust? • Are these data QA/QC’d in time? • What are the options for assigning these emissions data to power flows? Load-Based Emissions Tracking 7
“Specific” Power Purchases • bilateral contracts between LSEs and suppliers can be matched with emissions; • what portion of overall power flows do these specific purchases represent? • Assign generalized emissions values based on averages outside the jurisdiction • Combination of the two? Load-Based Emissions Tracking 8
Reduction in measured tons may not be tons reduced: • Generator or emissions source-based programs have the issue of leakage. • Load-based or retail provider-based programs will have the problem of “contract-shuffling” Other Issues 9