On 27 December 2018, the EPA announced the revised Greenhouse Gas Offset Program Management Regulations the Offset Regulations in brief). A category has been added for micro-scale businesses. Procedures have been simplified so that applicants can submit applications by merely documenting their own carbon reductions even though they are not legally required. The goal is to encourage participation of small emission sources such as medium and small-scale businesses, as well as to encourage transportation, residential and commercial sectors, in order to stimulate the development of reduction technology for all types of emission sources.

Focuses of revisions of the Offset Regulations include: 
1. With reference to international calculation methods for cap controls, circumstances not qualified for offset projects have been added in Article 4 in order to avoid duplication of other existing greenhouse gas reduction mechanisms.

2. Based on actual operations, requirements for applying to open holding accounts and required documents have been added in Article 5 for those promising to reduce emissions based on relevant laws.

3. For offset projects that qualify under micro-scale businesses – those with less than 5,000 kilowatts of renewable energy capacity, less than 20 million kWh/year of energy conservation, or less than 20,000 metric tons of CO2e of annual greenhouse gas reduction. The additive analysis of these abovementioned projects can only include the additive nature of the regulation. It has been added in Article 7.

4. For those purchasing renewable energy-generating facilities that qualify for the renewable electricity wholesale purchase rate, it has been specified in Article 9 that applicants should submit documents proving no duplicate calculations of participating offset projects.

5. In Article 10, a sunset clause has been added for the government-assisted offset projects before the Offset Regulations were implemented. As for those registering offset projects, limits for the inclusion periods are newly specified for emission sources under the cap-and-trade scheme.

6. Validation and verification for program-type offset projects should be carried out by different verification agencies. For sub-projects that have registered as part of the program-type offset projects, limits for the inclusion periods are newly specified for emission sources under the cap-and-trade scheme.

Excerpt from Environmental Policy Monthly, 22(1)

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