FAQs

Registering vs. Reporting but not Registering

• What are registered reductions?

Registered reductions are emission reductions that EIA has determined meet the qualifications set forth in the guidelines and follow specific, stringent reporting requirements designed to increase the credibility of reported emission reductions.

You can register reductions in emissions achieved beginning in 2003 and in subsequent years as measured against a Base Period of up to four years (1999-2002, or later). In order to register reductions, you must comply with the requirements of the General Guidelines, §300.1(c) and §300.7 for Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reporting. Upon review and acceptance of a report, EIA will notify the entity that reductions meeting the requirements have been credited to the entity as "registered reductions," which can be held by the entity for use in the event a future program that recognizes such reductions is enacted into law.

To register, a large emitter (over 10,000 mtCO2 equivalent annually) must:

• Complete a comprehensive entity-wide emission inventory that meets minimum data quality standards, resulting in a quantity-weighted average quality rating of at least 3.0;
• Calculate and report net entity-wide emission reductions that reflect any increases in emissions experienced by one or more sources within the entity; and
• Maintain verifiable records for a minimum of three years for Reporting Year data and for the duration of the entity's participation in the 1605(b) Program for Base Period data.

To register, a small emitter (less than 10,000 mtCO2 equivalent annually):

• May provide an emissions inventory only for the selected activities for which it intends to register emission reductions;
• Must meet the minimum data quality standards of at least 3.0 for this partial inventory;
• Must use the methods in the Technical Guidelines to calculate emission reductions; and
• Must certify that the reductions it intends to register were not the result of the actions likely to cause increases in emissions elsewhere in the entity.

Instructions for Form EIA-1605, pp. 4
General Guidelines, §300.1

• What are reported but not registered reductions?

Reductions that qualify as reported but not registered are included in reports that meet less stringent reporting requirements than those for registered reductions. An entity reporting but not registering has the flexibility to report emissions and/or emission reductions on an entity-wide basis or for selected elements, gases, or sources. Entities reporting but not registering are also not required to meet the minimum data quality standards fo 3.0.

 

An entity may report but not register annual reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and increases in carbon fixation realized in 1991 and subsequent years. Please not that EIA uses the term "reporting" (without the qualifier "but not registering") to refer to both "registering" and "reporting but not registering" reductions.

Instructions for Form EIA-1605, pp. 4
General Guidelines, §300.1

• What is the meaning of "selected elements," as it applies to reporting but not registering?

An "element" (as defined for entities reporting but not registering emissions and reductions) is a selected type of activity (e.g., reforestation, fleet vehicles, etc.). The definition of an "element" in this context is comparable to the definition of an "activity" for a small emitter). It should be noted that entities reporting but not registering reducitons may also limit their reports to selected gases or selected sources.

• If I intend to report but not register emissions reductions, can I report on a single project or activity?

If you intend to report but not register emissions and/or emission reductions, you may choose to report your emissions and/or emission reductions for a single type of activity. For example, you can report on your entity's reforestration, with all instances of your entity's reforestration operations included in your emissions report.

General Guidelines, §300.7(b)(2)

• What is emissions-only reporting?

Emissions-only reporting refers to a Reporting Year report that is limited to an emissions inventory, without emission reduction calculations. If an entity chooses to report at this level, the following parts of Form 1605(b) do not need to be completed: Schedule I, Section 4 (Entity Level Emissions Reductions), Schedule III (Emissions Reductions Summary), and Addendum B (Emission Reductions Methods). Please see the Getting Started Tool for more information.

• Can I both register and report but not register emission reductions in a single Reporting Year?

You are not allowed both to register and report but not register emission reductions in a single Reporting Year report. However, a Reporting Year report may contain certain elements that are not eligible for registration, including:

• Reductions of emissions from other indirect sources (e.g., employee commuting, manufacture and sale of energy efficient products, or consumption of energy intensive products);
• Reductions of CFC emissions; and
• Emission reductions calculated using the change in absolute emissions method for an entity or subentity for which emission reductions calculated using the change in emissions intensity method are also being registered.

Instructions for Form EIA-1605, pp. 4
General Guidelines, §300.1