Ozone Depleting Substances Protocol FAQs

Note that these FAQs apply only to the Reserve’s voluntary ODS project protocols. For more details on ARB’s Compliance Offset Protocols, please refer to our California Compliance Offset Program page.

  1. Are ODS projects eligible under California’s Cap-and-Trade Program?
  2. Where can ODS be destroyed under the U.S and Article 5 protocols? How do I find a suitable facility?
  3. Does the Reserve plan to write an ODS protocol that allows for destruction of ODS?
  4. How does the crediting period work for an ODS project?
  5. Do the reporting periods for ODS projects need to be contiguous?
  6. What ODS sources are eligible under the U.S. ODS protocol?
  7. Why is the destruction of intact appliance foam not credited under the ODS protocol?
  8. What ODS sources are eligible under the Article 5 ODS protocol?
  9. Why is foam ODS sourced from Article 5 countries not eligible under the Reserve’s protocol?
  10. What documentation is required to verify point of origin for Article 5 projects?
  11. Does the Reserve have details concerning the U.S. Customs and Border Protection requirements for ODS imports? For example, what costs are involved and what timeframes need to be met for imported substances?

  1. Q: Are ODS projects eligible under California’s Cap-and-Trade Program?A: Yes, some ODS projects are eligible under the California program. Please see the California Compliance Offset Program section of the Reserve’s website for more details about compliance projects.

  2. Q: Where can ODS be destroyed under the U.S and Article 5 protocols? How do I find a suitable facility?
    A: Under the U.S. and Article 5 protocols, ODS must be destroyed in the U.S. ODS can be destroyed at hazardous waste combustors subject to Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Clean Air Act (CAA), and National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) standards or at any other transformation or destruction facility that meets or exceeds the Montreal Protocol’s Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) standards (Section 2.2 and Appendix C of the protocol).A list of RCRA-approved ODS facilities or facilities that can destroy ODS in general can be found through the link below to a UNEP document prepared for an ODS banks workshop. Please review pages 16 and 17 for information on facilities in the U.S. that can destroy ODS. The U.S. EPA also maintains a list on their website of commercially available destruction facilities.UNEP:

    http://ozone.unep.org/Meeting_Documents/workshop_on_ODS_banks/WORKSHOP-3-INF1E.pdfU.S. EPA: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/destruction.html

  3. Q: Does the Reserve plan to write an ODS protocol that allows for destruction of ODS? A: The Reserve has adapted the Article 5 ODS Project Protocol for sourcing and destruction in Mexico. For more details, please refer to our Mexico ODS Project Protocol webpage.

  4. Q: How does the crediting period work for an ODS project?
    A: The language from the protocol states that “ODS projects will be issued CRTs for the quantity of ODS that would have been released over a 10-year period following a destruction event. At the time the project is verified, CRTs are issued for all ODS emissions avoided by a project over the 10-year crediting period.” To clarify, Climate Reserve Tonnes (CRTs) for ODS destruction are issued up-front for the amount of ODS that would have been released over a 10-year period in the absence of a destruction project. This means that all credits are received after they are verified following a destruction event, not issued in increments over a 10-year period. The project activities may occur over a period as long as 12 months.

  5. Q: Do the reporting periods for ODS projects need to be contiguous?
    A: No. ODS project reporting periods represent a discrete event (the destruction of the ODS) rather than a period over which reductions occur, as in the other Reserve protocols. This is the only project protocol where the Reserve allows reporting periods to not be contiguously reported.

  6. Q: What ODS sources are eligible under the U.S. ODS protocol?
    A: Refrigerant ODS sourced from industrial, commercial, or residential equipment, systems, and appliances or stockpiles, ODS blowing agents from appliance foams, and intact foam from building insulation are all eligible for destruction under the U.S. ODS protocol. For projects using Version 2.0 of the protocol, ODS sourced from the U.S. government may be eligible if purchased through a public auction held by the Defense Logistics Agency. See Section 2.3 of the protocol for a complete list of eligible refrigerants and foam blowing agents.

  7. Q: Why is the destruction of intact appliance foam not credited under the ODS protocol?A: Statistical uncertainty was fairly high in determining the ODS blowing agent concentration in intact appliance foam within the U.S. This made it difficult to standardize the quantification of ODS from intact appliance foam sources, resulting in its exclusion from the protocol.

  8. Q: What ODS sources are eligible under the Article 5 ODS protocol?
    A: ODS sourced from privately held stockpiles of used ODS refrigerant that can be legally sold to the market, as well as used ODS refrigerant recovered from industrial, commercial, or residential equipment at servicing or end-of-life are eligible. Article 5 government stockpiles of seized ODS refrigerant are also eligible. See Sections 2.3 and 2.4 of the protocol for a complete list of eligible refrigerants.

  9. Q: Why is foam ODS sourced from Article 5 countries not eligible under the Reserve’s protocol
    A: Foam ODS is not eligible from Article 5 countries because the Reserve was unable to develop a standardized baseline for the quantification of emission reductions from foam ODS destruction. The “common practice” for foam ODS end-of-life (destruction and/or recovery) varies from country to country and it was not possible to develop one standard “business as usual” scenario applicable to all Article 5 countries.

  10. Q: What documentation is required to verify point of origin for Article 5 projects?
    A: Required documentation to verify the point of origin (defined in Table 6.1) includes the physical address of the point of origin; system serial number or description, location, and function; serial or ID number of containers used for storage and transport.For virgin ODS, there must be documentation that the ODS was produced prior to production phase-out in the source country and that it has not been produced illegally. A full record of the U.S. EPA and/or Customs import process must be maintained for all imported ODS and all deadlines must be met for import of privately held virgin refrigerant ODS stockpiles. Please see Section 6.2 of the protocol for detailed requirements.

  11. Q: Does the Reserve have details concerning the U.S. Customs and Border Protection requirements for ODS imports? For example, what costs are involved and what timeframes need to be met for imported substances?
    A: The Reserve does not have details about what U.S. Customs requires or the costs involved. The Reserve also does not have contact information for anyone with Customs. The project developer is responsible for contacting Customs and determining the requirements prior to import.