2022 National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme: proposed updates

29 April 2022

Tim Kelly
Adelaide SA

Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting
Emissions Reduction

Cc ACCC

RE: Updates to National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme legislation.
Please accept this submission on NGER Determination amendments for 2022.
Some of the needs for reform identified in previous NGER submissions include:

• The NGER Framework should be reformed to cover an economy wide approach to
transitioning to a low carbon economy, not just isolated segments and schemes.
• Landscape fugitive emissions away from gas wells, potentially caused or aggravated by
dewatering and hydraulic fracturing to be addressed in the NGER Framework.
• Anomalies in deforestation and reafforestation to be addressed.
• Supporting retail accredited renewables to exist in law without double and triple counting
• The introduction of a no double counting principle into the NGER Framework. Just as we
would expect in the banking sector.

2022 SUBMISSION
Regarding the update the methodology used to calculate 'Scope 2' emissions, which arise from
consuming grid electricity, the amendments do not provide an acceptable outcome that is
consistent with the first Object of the NGER Act to:
Introduce a single national reporting framework for the reporting and dissemination of
information related to greenhouse gas emissions, greenhouse gas projects, energy
consumption and energy production of corporations to:
(b) inform government policy formulation and the Australian public; and
(c) meet Australia’s international reporting obligations; and
d) assist Commonwealth, State and Territory government programs and activities; and
(e) avoid the duplication of similar reporting requirements in the States and Territories.

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The reason why the NGER Determination does not provide a single National Reporting
Framework to inform the Australian Public about the claims of Corporations or their products is
because DISER has not supported or adopted market based accounting for scope 2 emissions or
to deal with scope 3 emission acknowledgements or offset claims in law.
There has been inadequate attention to the national and international shift towards market based
action and accounting, despite Australia not having an effective mandatory mechanism for
almost a decade.
In 2020, the DISER General Manager - National Inventory Systems and International Reporting
Branch stated that:
The Department would like to acknowledge the potential benefits of a market-
based approach system to scope 2 accounting. When the department last
conducted an analysis and public consultation on this proposal it found that
the benefits of using a contract-based approach were outweighed by the
additional complexity, information requirements and lack of transparency.
The department remains open to the view, however, that as circumstances
evolve over time, a different balance and different conclusions may be
possible in future.
In 2022, the Department has created and/or supported not one, but many market based
accounting schemes, none of which are supported in legislation for offsetting, renewables use or
abatement attributes. The Department has made the situation overly complex, completely lacking
integrity and usability whilst continuing to cause systemic double counting of renewable
electricity and abatement claims through offsets that are not yet supported by law.
The Department continues to support, and promote location based greenhouse gas accounting
whilst at the same time establishing and/or directly or indirectly supporting market based
accounting through the Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency (CERT) reporting scheme,
through the Hydrogen Guarantee of Origin (GoO) scheme, the Climate Active Scheme,
GreenPower and the voluntary surrender of Large Scale Certificates (LGCs). Each one of these
schemes is founded on making market based GHG or related claims of corporations and
businesses relating to their reputation, products, services or end use consumption.
The Department has not respected the Object of the NGER Legislation for a “single national
reporting framework” and has instead created multiple and contradictory frameworks, one in law
and the rest sitting outside legislation. The Hydrogen GoO scheme is an example of a framework
that will be used by NGER scale Corporations. This is not different accounting it is double
counting.
The CERT is also created primarily for use by NGER Reporting Corporations using market
based methods that are precluded by or not covered by the NGER Determination. This not only
leads to utter confusion on basic issues such as what defines renewable electricity use and how
carbon offsets should accounted for in consumer markets, but it also creates systemic double
counting and free riding.

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Australia’s multiple contradictory GHG, renewables and offsets schemes are all used
by NGER liable corporations, non NGER businesses, market intermediaries and end
user consumers for reputational, products, service and consumption based claims.

In seeking to suggest that NGER is for a different purpose, the Department has
created utter confusion

SOLUTION TO ESTABLISH INTEGRITY IN AUSTRALIA’S
MANDATORY REPORTING AND VOLUNTARY CARBON AND
RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKETS
Australia as an advanced economy with an established REC Registry and Clean Energy
Regulator should now fully embrace market based GHG accounting for renewable electricity and
carbon offsets.
Reccommendations
To achieve this outcome, market based accounting should be integrated into Australia’s Climate
Change Accounting Law, which is the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER)
Framework via the NGER Determination.

• No change is required for the NGER scope 1 emissions methods which by definition, are
location based.
• For consistency, the National Greenhouse Accounts (NGA) Factors need to be brought
into the NGER Framework to legally apply to all participants in Australia’s low carbon
markets. This is not about forcing all participants to report under the NGER reporting, it
simply means that when sellers and buyers are making reputational, product and service
based claims, they all follow the same set of market rules under a legislated framework.
• A change to the NGER Determination is needed to transition to market based accounting
for scope 2 emissions will require alignment of the Determination with the GHG Protocol
Scope 2 Guidance. A single method to claim renewable electricity use and zero scope 2
emissions is required. The revised NGER Determination should formerly establish a
National Residual Grid Mix Factor. Those not making emissions specific claims for
renewable electricity should be reporting their electricity emissions using the Residual
Grid Mix Factor as the primary method, including to make any and all reputational,
product and service based claims. The Dual Reporting with a location based factor
should therefore become a reference point only and must not be a choice, as this would
not prevent double counting.
• To align the Residual Grid Mix Factor (RMF) with a location based factor, the State
Average Factors should no longer be used. Instead, dual reporting should use the
National Location Based Factor to compare performance against the primary market
based method.
• If LGCs are to be treated as incorporating renewable use and zero scope 2 emission
attributes then these attributes need to be legally assigned with the Large Scale
Certificates.
• All eight quality criteria of the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance should be achieved.

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• A change to the NGER Determination is needed to introduce market based accounting for
carbon offsets as negative scope 3 emissions. This is essential to stop double counting
across producers, consumers and sectors. Where a carbon offset such as Australian
Carbon Credit Units are sold or allocated across different entities or locations, then basic
debit and credit rules need to apply such that a scope 3 emission are added to a sellers
account in order for scope three deductions to be claimed by a buyer/end user. This basic
concept is the foundation of financial markets and must also apply to carbon markets in
order for integrity, certainty and sustainability to be established.
• NGER reporting, Climate Active, GreenPower, the Hydrogen Guarantee of Origin
Scheme and the CERT should all be based around a common single National Greenhouse
and Energy Accounting framework that is established under the NGER Determination.
• Given the scale and expansion of low carbon markets together with the rapid growth of
emissions and renewable electricity related claims:
o The Clean Energy Regulator needs to address the fundamental problem of low
carbon markets not having a legislated carbon and renewables accounting
framework.
o The Department of Industry, Science Resources and Energy needs to start
addressing carbon accounting rules seriously to establish long term and
sustainable carbon markets and claims integrity to legally underpin such concepts
as renewable hydrogen, green steel and exporting renewable electricity to Asia,
as well as underpinning Australia’s domestic low carbon markets and claims.
o The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) should be called
upon to assure that NGER reporting and claims, GreenPower, Climate Active, the
CERT, The Hydrogen Guarantee of Origin Scheme, NABERS are all underpinned
by an emissions and renewables accounting framework that is robust and applies
consistently across the economy for Corporations to be protected when making
investment decisions.
o The ACCC should be called upon to assure that all the schemes have sufficient
legal foundation, clarity and fairness to enable enforcement actions to be applied
where required to protect consumers
o The Productivity Commission should be asked to address:
▪ The economic impacts of the continuation of the RET from now until
2030 noting that the target has already been achieved and continuation
creates unwarranted scarcity for renewables and artificial upward pressure
on prices in voluntary renewable electricity markets that are already
primed to take over from the mandatory mechanism
▪ The economic impacts of not allowing pre 1997 renewable electricity a
place in voluntary markets
▪ The economic impact of not having a single national accounting and
allocation framework for greenhouse gas emissions, renewables and
offsets to legally apply across the market to provide business and customer
certainty and assurance.

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WHY WAS THERE NO CONSULTATION ON THE NATIONAL
GREENHOUSE ACCOUNTS (NGA) FACTORS?
Content of the NGA Factors
For years, the Department has published the NGA Factors which is for a broader (but non-
defined) use in markets without there ever being consultation on this document.
The document is used as the foundation for the emission values published on consumer
electricity bills and in carbon calculators across the nation. They are used in the analysis behind
important modelling such as that undertaken to support the Future Fuels Strategy, its discussion
and recommendations.
The NGA Factors extends into Scope 3 accounting which is important to consumer markets and
the reputational claims of the business sector. However, the NGA Factors still do not cover the
concept of market based renewables or carbon offsets, and they have zero standing in law.
I had asked the Department as to whether it would include consultation regarding the NGA
Factors as part of this NGER Consultation, given that the department had claimed that:
Regarding the NGA Factors – Methods contained in this workbook are based
on Method 1’s extracted from the NGERS Measurement Determination. The
workbook is intended for voluntary use by non-NGERS reporters to estimate
their carbon footprint. It has no legal standing, and therefore, it is not our
practice to consult on annual updates. In any case, any amendments flowing
through from NGERS are consulted on through the regular NGERS
consultation process.
If the Department believes the NGA Factors are covered by NGER Consultation then it should
have broadened the scope of the NGER Determination Consultation to cover the NGA Factors
and scope 3 components. The key matter of the NGA Factors covering Scope 3 emission values
does by definition, mean that the NGER Determination Consultation cannot cover key emissions
methods relating to indirect upstream or downstream scope 3 emissions. The consultation should
have begun to manage the interface with renewable electricity and offset markets for end users.

Lack of Purpose and Guidance regarding the NGA Factors.
In response to suggesting to the Department that the NGA Factors are “dumped in the market
without any legislative teeth or a clearly defined role, a DISER Officer commented that:
One of his main points appears to be that electricity companies and so on use
the NGERS factors in their bills for people to estimate the emissions. “end
user claims and are dumped in the market without any legislative teeth or a
clearly defined role”. I’m not really sure what to say about that, as that is
companies using what we provide.
Well, yes, that is the point. The NGA factors are dumped into the market and used by businesses
and consumers to make reputational, product, service and consumption based claims using the
NGA Factors based on location based methods. At the same time there are now a growing

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number of alternative schemes each with contradictory accounting methods (CERT, Hydrogen
GoO, Climate Active, NABERS, GreenPower and Voluntary surrender of LGCs).
The market does use what the Department provides or does not provide. Currently the
Department provides contradictory schemes and documents with inadequate guidance resulting
in all the market based methods for renewables and offsets being unsupported by law and double
counted.

• Ordinary household and small business GreenPower customers are still being charged for
~120% LGCs to buy 100% accredited renewable electricity
• NGER corporations (particularly in the mining, resource processing and water industries)
are able to produce and consume and claim renewables from behind the meter or in close
proximity to their facilities whilst creating and selling LGCs to other consumers where
they are claimed again and double counted.
• Carbon offset creators can claim the abatement sold as offsets and claimed by others
• All accredited voluntary renewable electricity is double counted
• Abatement from all household and small scale solar renewable systems is double
counted.
• There is no legal definition of what constitutes voluntary renewable electricity from the
grid.
• There is massive confusion on the use of the state based emission factors, the Climate
Active market based Residual Mix Factor (RMF) and market based renewable claims,
such that consumers in South Australia do not know if they should pay 120% for
GreenPower, or claim the ~20% mandatory renewables component, or claim the 65%
state renewables generation component, or just claim renewables in connection with a
generation facility without any LGCs.
Australia’s greenhouse and renewables accounting is unworkable and unusable for voluntary
markets.
It would be less complicated for the Government to simply amend the NGER Determination to
support market based Scope 2 accounting and to enable carbon offsets to function as negative
scope 3 emissions with basic debit and credit rules. Then there could be one national accounting
framework and the assurance schemes could then just focus on assurance, not on parallel
fairytale accounting methods. The NGER Determination could then absorb the NGA Factors.

TAKING OF HOUSEHOLD SOLAR ABATEMENT
The Department, using STC information provided by the Clean Energy Regulator has effectively
taken the household abatement of all household solar systems and allocated this to reduce state
grid factors, with full double counting. Approximately 60% of the abatement benefits of
household solar goes to NGER liable corporations. These benefits are no longer small and
cannot be trivialised.
This action by the Department appears to directly contravene the NGER Technical Guidelines
(2017-18) which state that:

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It is important to note that household renewables produced and consumed behind the meter:

• Are not sent out to the grid
• Are not consumed from the grid
• Are not produced for the grid.
The Department had no justification to take the abatement from small scale system owners
without any attempt to determine the proportion of small scale use behind the meter or the net
surplus exported to the grid.
The treatment of householders to take their abatement and allocate this to the grid is opposite to
the treatment of NGER corporations producing and consuming behind the meter renewables
which are not allocated to the grid.

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The worst aspect of this Departmental administrative action is that the double counting of small
scale abatement by households is not and has never been properly disclosed to households or
other small scale system owners as a part of disclosure when Small Tradeable Certificates
(STCs) are signed across to third parties. Indeed, even when asking questions to the Department
directly about this situation it took at least four years to get a clear answer that yes, all the
abatement from small scale systems is allocated to state grid factors. The householder effort is
being claimed a second time by all other consumers.

CERT TREATMENT OF CARBON OFFSETS AND CONSEQUENCES
FOR THE NGER DETERMINATION
The DISER CERT scheme has adopted an approach for carbon offsets to be directly used to
reduce scope 1 emissions.
This approach is a fundamental perversion of accounting for emissions in scopes, because offsets
rightly belong the Scope 3 accounting column These are indirect emissions reduction activities
that occur outside the boundary of operational control by a business or consumer and should be
carefully claimed against the aggregate of scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions. Where an abatement of 1
tonne of GHG is achieved by a third party and they sell the abatement, that provider should add a
scope 3 emission to their account so a consumer can claim a scope 3 reduction. Sadly, Australia
has not applied basic debit and credit rules to carbon offset markets so the seller can claim the
abatement as well as the consumer, which of course results in double counting.
Through the perverse CERT treatment of offsets, it appears that the Department is trying to
shield Corporations from acknowledgement of scope 3 emissions that are not reported on via
mandatory NGER Reporting, whilst enabling to claim the indirect reductions of offsets by
shifting offsets into the Scope 1 column for corporations to claim a reduced ‘Net scope 1
emissions’ value.
This approach is opposed because it is so perverse, but if it is the case that NGER liable
Corporations are to be able to claim lower ‘net scope 1 emissions’ when buying offsets through
the CERT or even in general claims, then the NGER Determination should also require that
NGER liable corporations add ‘net scope 1 emissions’ when selling offsets. This is not an
extreme concept, just a basic market based accounting convention to ensure integrity that is quite
well accepted in financial markets and banking.

HOW AUSTRALIA IS DOUBLE COUNTING RENEWABLES AND
OFFSETS.
I attach the text from a recent article that I authored for the Fifth Estate Spinifex online
magazine. This describes an overview of Australia’s double counting and failure to legally
establish market based accounting.

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How Australia's accredited renewable electricity products and carbon offsets are systemically
double counted and lack legal foundation.

I have been asked by several peers to provide a summary of the key legal and accounting issues behind
my assertions that Australia's accredited renewable electricity products and carbon offsets lack
legitimacy and integrity. This might come as a surprise to some, but it is pretty easy to back up. Over
many years, the government departments, assurance organisations and authorities have not been able to
provide a credible to dispel concerns raised and typically dismiss them as out of scope or not a current
priority.
Greenhouse Accounting Overview and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol
Greenhouse and renewable electricity accounting is often seen as a complicated rules and policy that
are too complex for most consumers to understand, yet if renewable electricity and offsets were solid
objects that could be traded in blocks, then the accounting issues would be apparent for all to see.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is a globally accepted set of standards for accounting for greenhouse gas
emissions and describes key types of emissions as outlined below:
• Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from burning fossil fuels or releasing other harmful
gasses.
• Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions associated with using energy where the emissions
occur in another location, including imported electricity, heat and steam.
• Scope 3 emissions are other indirect emissions in the life cycle of products and services.
ACCOUNTING FOR ELECTRICITY AND RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY
Accounting for electricity and renewable electricity is specifically referring to the Scope 2 emissions
area.

There are different potential ways to account for scope 2 emissions and it is up to Governments to
determine how Scope 2 emissions will be accounted for in their jurisdictions. However, the GHG
Protocol does provide guidance on how to establish accounting that ensures quality and integrity for
two broad alternative approaches.

• One way to account for electricity is referred to the Location Based Method where
emissions from all generation sources are pooled together and are allocated across all
customers in a jurisdiction in proportion of their electricity consumption from the
grid. This is done through a pooled emissions factor that applies to that market
jurisdiction. It means that regardless of any decision made by a customer, all electricity
emissions are allocated at the same rate per kWh. Under such a framework, choices like
GreenPower do not work.

• The other way to account for electricity emissions is referred to as the Market Based
Method which is designed to enable customer choices for renewable electricity so that
individual households and businesses can buy accredited renewable electricity, claim
renewable electricity use and claim zero electricity related emissions. However, there is
a logical requirement that when this is done, those renewables claimed uniquely in
contracts need to be removed from the pooled emission factors in a jurisdiction to prevent
dilution and double counting. This requirement is achieved by establishing a Residual
Mix Factor (RMF) that should apply to all consumers not buying renewable
electricity. Those not buying renewables will report higher emissions compared to the

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location based method, whilst those buying the accredited renewable electricity have
exclusive assess and rights to claim renewables use and zero emissions.
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 2 Guidance released in 2015, provides specific methods and
quality criteria for ensuring that market based renewable claims can have integrity and are indeed
unique.
Describing the core accounting issue with Australia's end user renewable claims
In Australia, however, there has not been a clear government decision to adopt market based
accounting or location based accounting, but rather both are used at the same time without any
legislative support for consumer claims. This results in systemic double counting, where renewables
are allocated across all consumers and claimed by those buying accredited renewables as well.

Specifically:
• The legislated National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Determination uses the location
based approach and applies to approximately 415 of the largest greenhouse polluting or
electricity consuming corporations.
• The non-legislated National Greenhouse Accounts (NGA) Factors also apply the location
based approach to the broader market and these are used to determine the default electricity
emissions printed on customer bills and in carbon calculators across Australia.
Between the NGER Determination and NGA Factors the vast majority of renewable electricity is fully
allocated and no further claims can occur without double counting. However, Australia has normalised
double counting:
• GreenPower applies a market based approach to guide consumers to claim zero Scope 2
emissions
• The Climate Active – Carbon Neutral Accreditation Scheme allows either the market based
method or the location based method to be used by their participants to claim carbon
neutrality. Climate Active have prepared a RMF but this does not apply across all
consumers in the market not buying renewable electricity so double counting is not
prevented. The method of producing the RMF also does not remove voluntary renewables
and behind the meter renewables from diluting the RMF.
• The Corporate Emissions Reporting Transparency (CERT) scheme currently being trialled
for NGER Reporting organisations, allows a choice for the Location Based Method or the
Market Based Method to be used.
• The Hydrogen Guarantee of Origin Scheme currently being trialled, allows the Market
Based Method to be used to make claims relating to the origin and greenhouse intensity of
the hydrogen. Only the market based method is use for the Guarantee of Origin Scheme
but those producers making NGER Reports still report using the location based approach.
• The NABERs scheme covering buildings allows the market based approach.
There are a variety of less formal methods to make claims which span across concepts, typically
exploiting loopholes. These include:
a) Power Purchase Agreements without Large Scale Certificates (LGCs) to make market
based renewable claims
b) Producing and consuming renewables on site, claiming zero scope 2 emissions and
potentially use, whilst selling LGCs to third parties
c) Claiming the state renewables generation as the percentage of renewable electricity
purchased
d) Claiming that time of day consumption aligns with renewable electricity generation and
therefore represents use of renewables.

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All methods, whether in a mandatory or voluntary scheme context, are used by organisations and
consumers to make reputational, product and service based claims or to lead to a belief that renewable
electricity has been purchased.

Across market and location based methods, Australia’s accredited renewable electricity is systemically
double counted as a minimum. This also means pricing unfairness as those not paying for renewable
electricity receive a free ride benefit, whilst those paying for renewable electricity are not assured
through legislation that they are receiving what they have paid for. Renewable electricity for most
ordinary small business, households, are charged as a premium product when they should now be
cheaper to buy as fossil fuelled electricity is now more expensive to produce.

Just consider how it would be seen if renewable electricity was a car, and a consumer has paid a
premium price for their new car for it to be zero emissions, only to find out when asking for the keys to
claim their ownership and exclusive use, they are told it has been driven down the road as a taxi for all.

But don’t Large Scale Certificates (LGCs) underpin claims?
LGCs are used to infer legitimacy and credibility of accredited renewable products, but they were not
created or reformed for this purpose. The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 describes how
LGCs are created under Section 18, and the form and content of LGCs under Section 25, but it is
important to note that these sections do not include any suggestion that the key attributes of '
renewables use' or 'zero scope 2 emissions' are incorporated into the LGCs for trading and end use
claims. Without such an inclusion in a legislated accounting framework, LGCs fail to assure integrity
or prevent double counting.

What about small scale household systems and Small Tradable Certificates (STCs)?
The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Technical guidelines describe that state (location
based) grid factors are calculated from: “combustion emissions from electricity consumed from the grid
in each state” divided by the “total electricity sent out consumed from the grid”. As the vast majority
of household small scale systems are producing and consuming the bulk of their solar electricity behind
the meter (both an instant basis and a net consumption basis), this should have precluded the zero
emissions from these renewables being allocated across all customers. An adjustment should have
been made but that did not happen. Using STC data from the Clean Energy Regulator, the Department
of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER), has allocated all small scale renewables to the
grid, as well as these being naturally claimed by households.

All of Australia's voluntary renewables appear to be double counted.

AUSTRALIAN CARBON OFFSETS
Australian Carbon Credit Units share a very similar problem to that of renewable electricity in that
there is no legislated market based accounting trading and claims framework to underpin offset
emission claims made by end users.

Emissions reductions take place in the Scope 1 space but if third parties are seeking to make a market
based claim then this needs to take place in the indirect emissions space (Scope 3). For this reason, I
argue that carbon offsets should exist as negative scope 3 emissions.

The core accounting issue with Australian Carbon Credit Units
Australia has no legislated market based accounting framework to guide scope 3 emissions or
emissions reduction trading and claims.

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The creators of ACCUs are able to keep claiming emissions reductions from offset activities whilst
selling ACCUs to third parties who also make emissions reduction claims. When the Government says
it purchases abatement through emissions Reduction Fund Auctions, it is actually buying certificates,
not abatement because these certificates do not incorporate the abatement.

Division 2 of the Carbon Farming Initiative Act (2011) describes multiple aspects relating to the issue
of Australian Carbon Credit Units, but nowhere in this Act, does it describe the attribute of abatement,
nor how abatement can be traded or claimed. Australian Carbon Offsets (ACCUs) do not legally
contain the carbon offset that they are traded for in voluntary markets.

Just as legislated market based accounting is required to support end user renewable claims, legislated
market based accounting is also required to guide Australia's carbon offset markets and end user
claims. There needs to be debit and credit rules that apply to all markets. I have suggested solutions in
my Submission on the Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency Report (2nd round consultation) to
align with the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance for market based renewable electricity and to establish
market based accounting for carbon offsets.

Without credible and legislated rules, Australian Clean Energy Markets will continue to operate in
uncertainty and be challenged on their integrity.

MIGRATORY EMISSIONS OF GASEOUS FOSSIL FUELS
The methods described for determining fugitive emissions from fossil fuels remain of key
concern with the rapid expansion of this industry. Current methods still ignore landscape scale
migratory leakage which may occur away from exploration and production wells through
fissures cracks, geological faults, water pathways etc, directly or indirectly from dewatering or
hydraulic fracturing activities.
The NGER Determination outlines mass balance calculations but when leakage pathways are
omitted from the calculations and methods, the end result is a partial process method. I
understand that some research is being undertaken to assess landscape scale emissions from the
industry, yet there is no current requirement for baseline assessment of fugitive emissions before
new activities start in a region, or regular sampling and monitoring in the proximity as operations
continue.
Even with that constraint, fugitive emissions away from wells and pipes caused by hydraulic
fracturing and dewatering are not zero. A method to estimate this leakage based on actual
proximity sampling, infra-red or remote sensing or other techniques needs to be developed and
incorporated in GHG monitoring, reporting and assessments.
Recommendations

• The NGER Determination should require that all pathways to landscape scale leakage
are assessed prior to exploration and production activities for gaseous fossil fuel
production. Until more detailed methods are developed, the NGER Determination
should include and over-arching principle or statement to require that there be a robust
assessment of all potential pathways for leakage to be assessed

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• The NGER Determination should require that all pathways to landscape scale leakage
are monitored and quantified throughout the life of exploration, production activities and
continue until the sites are adequately decommissioned.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, there is a need for the Department to decide whether it supports low carbon
markets or not. If it supports carbon markets, there is a need to establish a market based
accounting framework in law and to stop the double counting from using both location based and
market based methods at the same time.
There is absolutely no need for the NGER Framework to continue requiring NGER Corporations
to calculate location based state scope 2 emissions. Corporations already report on grid
electricity consumption which is sufficient for DISER to determine any average grid wide
condition for state planning activities.
For consumers, whether they be large NGER liable corporations, small business or small
household consumers, they should be receiving their billing information and making claims
based on their market based choice to either buy accredited renewable electricity at zero scope 2
emissions or buy unspecified electricity at the National Residual Mix Factor (N-RMF) emissions
intensity.
Any location based reporting should be for reference, not for claims, as described by the GHG
Protocol Scope 2 Accounting Guidance.
Basic debit and credit rules should be established to support the use of carbon offsets as negative
Scope 3 emissions.
I request the opportunity to discuss the issues and need for reforms with appropriate
representatives from the Department.

Yours sincerely

Tim Kelly
100% accredited GreenPower customer and offset consumer for flights

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APPENDIX 1 PREVIOUS RELEVANT SUBMISSIONS

• 2022 Climate Active renewables for Organisations
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11sPTscKTNf_YAqM9oZ8toLKmC9e1ru_m/view?usp=sharing
• 2021 CERT 2nd Round Consultation
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UKe9DOBxEeYdO5GcxUoOJVcZBMq46ZlM/view?usp=sharing
• 2021 Hydrogen Guarantee of Origin Scheme
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kHOEZOLEb7TkzJ6KkqqH6cygCSeoGAT6/view?usp=sharing
• 2021 Carbon Capture and Storage Method
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UF4vyiQfBnHRYtV0I58ZGU9XDC3WqpJF/view?usp=sharing
• 2021 NGER Determination Consultation
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UF4vyiQfBnHRYtV0I58ZGU9XDC3WqpJF/view?usp=sharing
• 2021 Submission on the proposed Corporate Emissions Reporting Transparency Scheme
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-1ahaLXpTPlIOiSBIvlfGI5m_Zo0bm0K/view?usp=sharing
• 2020 Climate Active Accounting for Electricity Emissions Discussion Paper
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qjiV1_bkSIpODeVGkW5TEl1TIVEgcuAY
• 2020 NGER Determination
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14XY3beOwIwy1fHntVGbTpT1GgcW9bBDm/view?usp=sharing
• 2020 The Climate Change Authority Review of the Emissions Reduction Fund
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1YKvH7pIFijKXLEvgeuVpPHaeK-F1Tf5T
• 2020 Clean Energy Regulator Draft guidance on the Emissions Reduction Fund’s regulatory
additionality requirement
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1bpwJkovyBD9cuir9p1fSoGed3NZ0A1cv
• 2020 Carbon Market Institute: Independent Review of the Carbon Industry Code of Conduct
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1h69IznYLAEip-551LrpwoTE-KIoJDp2L

• 2020 Submission on proposed Hydrogen Accreditation Scheme
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V3gtgGgimLfeODfKdy6fKMBjRHvHBu2I/view?usp=sharing

• 2018 Climate Change Authority review of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1SuZl5QBVEGCDDMAXrexjLxJLIjAc1r2e

• Submission on the National Energy Guarantee Emissions Registry – Emissions Reduction
Requirements
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BHsU_sQZQX6k9SjhJpjOv7V7OsqCQRPa/view?usp=sharing

• 2011 GreenPower Program Rules – Version 7
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lsBKfYIBh1GpmsphAPm5McBXbtPIwxgq/view?usp=sharing

• 2010 Submission on Renewables under NGERS
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JwUkpe-AMX6xmhPydJFCB_veTurNaLQk/view?usp=sharing

• 2010 GreenPower Program Rules - Version 6
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fezP3fN9NvgUsFD3B6kF83rdKTG_VBQd/view?usp=sharing

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• 2008 Submission on the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VSzRYQ68_jrSekAJqmp12X2ihKa28PcH/view?usp=sharing

• 2006 A National System for Streamlined Greenhouse and Energy Reporting by Business -Draft
Regulation Impact Statement
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PEnWkUGxfgFSmXsO5IZRaMclm9ysTPLF/view?usp=sharing

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