3.18 The Regulator must make a reported-emissions baseline determination for a facility in each of the following three circumstances:
• A facility reported its emissions under the Act in each of the five financial years from 2009-10 to 2013-14 and the covered emissions in one or more of these years were more than 100,000 t CO2-e. The baseline emissions
number for such a facility is the highest amount of covered emissions emitted in a financial year within this period (2009-10 to 2013-14). [paragraph 14(1)(a) and subsection 17(1)]
For example, a facility’s covered emissions were 200,000 t CO2-e in 2009-10
and 220,000, 210,000, 190,000 and 205,000 t CO2-e in the subsequent years to
2013-14. The baseline emissions number for the facility is the highest of these
• A facility reported its emissions under the Act in at least three of the five financial years from 2009-10 to 2013-14 and the covered emissions in all three of these years were more than 100,000 t CO2-e. The baseline emissions number for such a facility is the highest amount of covered emissions emitted in a financial year within this period (2009-10 to 2013-14). [paragraph 14(1)(b) and subsection 17(1)]
For example, a facility’s covered emissions were 80,000 t CO2-e in 2010-11,
120,000 t CO2-e in 2011-12, 140,000 t CO2-e in 2012-13 and 130,000 t CO2-e
in 2013-14. The facility was not required to report its emissions under the Act in 2009-10. The baseline emissions number for the facility is the highest of
these values, equalling 140,000 t CO2-e.
• A facility reported its emissions under the Act in at least one of the five financial years from 2009-10 to 2013-14, the covered emissions in one of those was more than 100,000 t CO2-e and the responsible emitter has notified the Regulator prior to 1 August 2016 that it wanted a reported- emissions baseline determination. The baseline emissions number for such a facility is the highest amount of covered emissions emitted in a financial year within this period (2009-10 to 2013-14). [paragraph 14(1)(c) and subsection 17(1)] This allows a facility to choose to use its high point in reported emissions even with few historic data points.
For example, a facility’s covered emissions were 80,000 t CO2-e in 2012-13
and 120,000 t CO2-e in 2013-14. The facility was not required to report its
emissions under the Act prior to 2012-13. The responsible emitter for the facility notified the Regulator in writing prior to August 2016 that it wants a reported-emissions baseline determination. The baseline emissions number for the facility is the highest of these values, equalling 120,000 t CO2-e.
Global warming potential
3.19 When determining a facility’s covered emissions in the financial years from 2009-10 to 2013-14, where possible the Regulator will use the global warming potential values specified under the NGER Regulations at the time when the determination is made. These values were updated from 1 July 2015. In particular, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and perfluorocarbon
emissions attributable to aluminium production will also use the current global warming potential values. Other global warming potential values are taken to be the value used in the report at the time it was submitted under the Act for the purpose of whether to make a reported-emissions baseline determination. [paragraph 14(3)] However, in setting the baseline emissions number the responsible emitter may provide information about other greenhouse gases to enable the current global warming potential values to be used instead of those previously reported under the Act. [subsection 17(6)]
For example, if emissions from three different types of hydrofluorocarbon greenhouse gases were reported in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalence in reports submitted under the Act in the financial years from 2009-10 to 2013-14, and the responsible emitter has not provided disaggregated emissions data from those three gases, then the global warming potential of those three gases is
Inter-state transport facilities
3.20 Inter-state transport facilities, which under the NGER Regulations are treated as separate state-based facilities, have the option of nominating to report its
emissions as a national facility for the purposes of reporting and for managing its obligations under the safeguard mechanism. This option is possible under amendments to the NGER Regulations to be made by the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (2015 Measures No.2) Regulation 2015
(refer to the Explanatory Statement for this regulation amendment for further information).
3.21 Where a nomination to this effect has been made under regulation 2.19A of the amended NGER Regulations, then the covered emissions for the national facility in the baseline period, the financial years from 2009-10 to 2013-14, will be determined as if the national facility definition had been in place during that period. [subsection 14(2)] Depending on if the covered emissions for the national facility is above 100,000 t CO2-e, a reported-emissions baseline determination may be made in accordance with subsection 14(1) of the draft safeguard rule. 3.22 If under paragraph 14(1)(c), the making of the reported-emissions baseline
determination requires the responsible emitter to notify the Regulator that it wants such a baseline determination, then this notification must be made by 1 August in the financial year that the national facility definition is to first apply to the transport facility. [subparagraph 14(2)(b)(ii)]
3.23 A reported-emissions baseline determination made for a national facility will commence at the start of the financial year that the national facility definition first applied to the transport facility, unless a calculated-emissions baseline determination has been made to commence at the same time. [subsection 18(2)] 3.24 The rules provide for calculated-emissions, benchmark-emissions or
production-adjusted baseline determinations made in relation to state-based facilities to be incorporated into the reported-emissions baseline determination. [subsection 17(5)] This is done by aggregating together the baselines in force for any state based transport facility in place of historic data on the emissions performance of the facility. See the section headed Section 20: Variation of transport reported-emissions baseline determination where calculated- emissions baseline determination or benchmark-emissions baseline
determination incorporatedon page 42 of the draft Explanatory Statement for further information.