Canada’s Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System: Credit and Tracking System (CATS) and Public Registry

The Credit and Tracking System (CATS) is a shared IT platform used to administer Canada's GHG Offset Credit System and the federal Output-Based Pricing System (OBPS).

Registration in CATS is open to:

• offset project proponents
• responsible parties under the OBPS
• other market participants located in Canada  

More information on the federal OBPS is available on the Output-Based Pricing System webpage.

Public Registry

A public view of CATS for Canada's GHG Offset Credit System is available on Canada’s Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System Public Registry. The public registry provides a current listing of registered projects and offset credits and the ability to view and download key information.

Project proponent registration

Project proponents

Project proponents must create and use a GHG Offset Credit System account to register offset projects, and manage their projects and offset credits.

Project eligibility

Only projects meeting conditions of registration in the Canadian Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System Regulations (the Regulations) may be eligible for registration. The projects must also be of a type for which a federal offset protocol has been included in the Compendium of Federal Offset Protocols.

Review requirements in the Regulations and the applicable federal offset protocol to assess whether your project meets conditions for registration. Click on the Regulations button and the Protocols button above for more information on the Regulations and federal offset protocols.

The Overview outlines key requirements made under the Regulations.

Create an account

If you would like to submit a project registration application for a project to be implemented using a federal offset protocol, you will need a GHG Offset Credit System Account. If you do not already have an account, go to the Credit and Tracking System (CATS). There you can submit a request to open a GHG Offset Credit System Account.

A registration application may be for a single project, or for an aggregation of projects, consisting of a group of projects located in the same province or territory and using the same federal offset protocol.

Here’s how:

• from the CATS home page choose “Open a Carbon Market Account in CATS”
• select “GHG Offset Credit System Account”
  • The account application must include the documents included in the Documents section below
  • Only the authorized official named to represent the project proponent may open an account to participate in Canada's GHG Offset Credit System

Please refer to the CATS account opening user guide for step-by-step guidance on how to open an account and register your first project.

Documents

The following documents must be completed and submitted for GHG Offset Credit System Account opening requests and/or project registration.

To receive copies of the templates applicable for your project type, please contact the GHG Offset Credit System Operations Office at CreditsCompensatoiresSCSC-OffsetsCATS@ec.gc.ca.

Indicate the protocol that applies to your project, and whether you are seeking to submit an application to register a stand-alone project or an aggregation of projects:

• identity verification
  • To be completed by trusted referees (a notary or lawyer) to confirm the identity of proponents or individuals authorized to act on the behalf of a proponent (only submitted when opening an account or updating an authorized official)
• authorized official authorization
  • To be completed by a proponent to authorize an individual to act as an authorized official on behalf of the proponent (only submitted when opening an account or updating an authorized official)
• project registration application
  • Protocol-specific template to be completed by a proponent or their authorized official to register a project in Canada’s GHG Offset Credit System
• application for registration of an aggregation of projects
  • Protocol-specific template to be completed by a proponent or their authorized official to register an aggregation of projects, made up of a group of projects, in Canada’s GHG Offset Credit System
• request for confidentiality
  • To be completed by a proponent or their authorized official when making a request for information provided to the Minister to be treated as confidential under Sections 254 and 255 of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act

If you already have a GHG Offset Credit System Account, submit the project registration

application document from within your account.

Track, Manage and Support

Your GHG Offset Credit System account will be used for:

• project reporting
• to register any additional projects
• to track federal offset credit issuance, transfers, retirement, suspensions, revocations, and cancellations
• track compliance obligations and remittance of compliance units, and any payments under Canada’s GHG Offset Credit System

Other market participant registration

The Other Market Participant (OMP) account type is intended for entities such as brokers, traders, and companies not regulated under the federal Output-Based Pricing System (OBPS) who wish to own and/or manage federal offset or surplus credits, to track their credit transactions.

There are no restrictions on who can buy federal offset credits or surplus credits. Credits can be bought and used for both voluntary and compliance purposes such as by:

• individuals and organizations, including governments and businesses, to meet emission reduction objectives or net-zero targets
• facilities regulated under the federal Output-Based Pricing System (OBPS) and under the Clean Electricity Regulations, to meet their regulatory compliance obligations

Sales of federal offset credits and surplus credits occur as private transactions outside of the Credit and Tracking System. The price of credits is to be determined between the seller and the buyer.

Eligibility

OMP Accounts may be requested by:

• organizations or businesses located in Canada with a Business Number issued by the Canada Revenue Agency
• public body or Government in Canada

Create an Account

To submit a request to open an OMP account in the Credit and Tracking System (CATS), follow these steps:

1. request account opening documents (see Documents section below) by emailing CreditsCompensatoiresSCSC-OffsetsCATS@ec.gc.ca
2. complete account opening documents per instructions
3. go to CATS and choose “Open a Carbon Market Account in CATS”
4. select “Other Market Participant Account”
   1. Only an individual named as the Authorized Account Representative by the organization requesting the account can submit the request to open an account
5. select the applicable OMP account type and purpose
6. enter account registration information of the “Other Market Participant Account Opening” form
   1. Once all mandatory fields on the form have been completed, select “Proceed to Next Step”
   2. If the email address in the confirmation pop-up that appears is correct, select “Yes”
      1. If the email address is incorrect, select “No”, scroll back up the form, correct the email address and select “Proceed to Next Step”
         • Note: CATS will send you an action item notification email advising you that your CATS profile has been setup successfully
7. you now have the option to “Continue” with the registration process or close the page and complete the registration process within the next 24 hours by clicking on the link provided in the CATS action email notification email
   1. Choose the preferred method of secure sign-in
      1. In order to facilitate a secure sign-in process, you can use Sign-In Partner, or register for a GCKey
         • A GCKey is a unique electronic credential that allows you to communicate securely with online enabled Government programs and services
      2. The chosen method will be used each time you log in to CATS
   2. Use a Sign-In partner or GCKey:
      1. sign-In Partner: uses the same sign-in information used for other online services (e.g. online banking)
         • None of your information will be shared with CATS
      2. GCKey: requires users to create an account, password and recover questions
         • The GCKey can be used to access multiple Government of Canada online enabled services
         • More information on this service can be found on About GCKey
   3. Read the Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Notice displayed related to the Interac sign-in service and accept the Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Notice to continue
8. enter the Two-Factor Authentication Code received by email and select Sign In
9. read and accept the Conditions of Use
   1. If you refuse the Conditions of Use, you will not be able to perform any actions in CATS
10. the second requirement on the “Pending Opening” screen requires you, as the Authorized Account Representative, to upload the Identity Verification and Authorization documents
    1. To upload the required documents, proceed as follows:
       1.  under Requirement 2, select “Upload Documents”. You will be redirected to the Account Submission screen
       2. on the Account Submission screen, uploading of documents can be achieved by clicking the “Upload Document” button or by selecting the specific Upload Document link to a document type, and then clicking “Browse” to select the files you wish to upload
          • Other document type option is available from the drop-down menu for any other relevant documents to be uploaded
    2. In case an incorrect document is uploaded, select “Delete” from the Actions drop-down in the row with the incorrect document, and re-upload a new document by carefully selecting the correct Document Type
11. once you have uploaded your document(s), select “Save and Close” to continue. You will return to the Pending Opening screen
    1. The green check mark will be displayed indicating the completion of Requirement 2
12. select “Request Participation in CATS” to complete your request to open the account.  A confirmation pop-up will appear, select “Ok”
    1. A success message will confirm that the account application has been submitted
    2. You will also receive an email to confirm that your request to open an account was successfully submitted

Documents

The following documents must be completed and submitted for OMP account opening requests:

• identity verification
  • To be completed by trusted referees (a notary or lawyer) to confirm the identity of individuals authorized to act on the behalf of the other market participant (only submitted when opening an account or updating an authorized account representative)
• authorized account representative authorization
  • To be completed by an individual with signing authority for the other market participant to authorize an individual to act as an authorized account representative on behalf of the other market participant (only submitted when opening an account or updating an authorized account representative)

Track, Manage and Support

Once you have purchased your federal offset or surplus credits, your Other Market Participant account can be used to:

• receive transfer of your credits
• transfer credits to other accounts
• voluntarily cancel credits for your own purposes or on behalf of another party

Contact information

For inquiries on the Credit and Tracking System: CreditsCompensatoiresSCSC-OffsetsCATS@ec.gc.ca.

For general inquiries on Canada’s GHG Offset Credit System: creditscompensatoires-offsets@ec.gc.ca.