32. The total number of emission units of the current or prior vintage, of emission units from the reserve account and of early reduction credits that an emitter or a participant may hold in its general account and, where applicable, its compliance account is subject to the holding limit calculated using equation 32-1:
Equation 32-1
HLi = 0.1 × Baseline + 0.025 × (Ci - Baseline)
Where:
HLi = Holding limit for year i;
0.1 = Maximum proportion of the number of emission units constituting the Baseline that an emitter or a participant may hold;
Baseline = 25,000,000;
0.025 = Maximum proportion of the number of emission units in excess of the Baseline that an emitter or a participant may hold;
Ci = Sum of the annual cap of emission units for year i set by order in accordance with section 46.7 of the Environment Quality Act (chapter Q-2) and the cap set by a partner entity;
i = Current year.
The total number of emission units of a vintage subsequent to the current year that an emitter or participant may hold in its general account and, where applicable, its compliance account is subject to the holding limit calculated using equation 32-2:
Equation 32-2
HLj = 0.1 × Baseline + 0.025 × (Cj - Baseline)
Where:
HLj = Holding limit for an emission unit of vintage j;
0.1 = Maximum proportion of the number of emission units constituting the Baseline that an emitter or participant may hold;
Baseline = 25,000,000;
0.025 = Maximum proportion of the number of emission units in excess of the Baseline that an emitter or participant may hold;
Cj = Sum of the annual cap of emission units for year j set by order in accordance with section 46.7 of the Environment Quality Act and of the cap set by a partner entity;
j = Year subsequent to the current year.
Despite the first paragraph, the emission units and early reduction credits recorded in the compliance account of an emitter and needed to cover estimated GHG emissions for the current year or emissions for preceding years are not subject to the holding limit.
Furthermore, an emitter or a participant that reaches or exceeds one-half of its holding limit must, at the Minister’s request, explain its strategy and the reason for holding the emission units concerned.
Every transaction request for emission units that would cause the buyer’s holding limit to be exceeded will be refused by the Minister.
When the holding limited is exceeded, the emitter or participant must, within 5 days after the limit is exceeded, divest itself of the excess emission allowances, pay into its compliance account the emissions units or early reduction credits needed to cover its emissions for the current year or preceding years or, in the case of related entities, amend the distribution of the overall holding limit determined in accordance with section 33 in order to become compliant. Upon a failure to comply, the Minister takes back a quantity of emission units equivalent to the excess emission allowances and pays them into the Minister’s auction account for sale at a later date.
O.C. 1297-2011, s. 32; O.C. 1184-2012, s. 19; O.C. 1138-2013, s. 10; O.C. 902-2014, s. 23.