Developing emission offset projects

On this page

• Regulatory requirements
• The project plan
• Validating the project plan
• Submitting the project plan for acceptance

Regulatory requirements

Proponents should review offset regulatory requirements prior to planning projects or considering investment decisions.

Accepted projects in B.C. must meet criteria established in the Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act (GGIRCA), the Greenhouse Gas Emission Control Regulation and relevant approved protocols.

The project plan

The project plan (DOCX, 165KB) sets out the purpose, project boundary, baseline scenario, and selected emission sources, sinks and reservoirs for the project in accordance with the regulation and protocol. The plan also identifies the length of time the project will be eligible to create offsets. This time or crediting period may be up to 25 years for sequestration projects and up to 10 years for other project types, unless specified otherwise by the protocol.

For proponents doing a Forest Carbon Offset Protocol (FCOP) project, use the FCOP project plan template (DOCX, 227KB).

For more information on the process of developing an offset project in B.C., review the Offset Project Proponent Guidance Document (PDF, 620KB).

Validating the project plan

Project proponents must have the completed plan validated (DOCX, 157KB) by an accredited validation body.

For proponents doing an FCOP project, use the FCOP validation statement template (DOCX, 170KB).

Validation bodies review the project following criteria established in the act, regulation and protocol. Successful validation provides assurance from an accredited third party that the project plan is fair, reasonable and meets the requirements of the act. Before performing a validation, validation bodies must demonstrate they are not in a conflict of interest (see section 16 of the GHG Emission Control Regulation).

Consult the Validation and Verification Guidance Document (PDF, 564KB) for more information. 

Submitting the project plan for acceptance

A validator submits a validated project plan and its validation statement through the BC Carbon Registry to the director for review. When accepted, the validated project plan and related validation documents are published on the BC Carbon Registry.