Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program
Applicability Tool
Choosing the Correct CO2e Calculator to See Whether Your Imports or Exports of CO2, Nitrous Oxide, and Fluorinated GHGs Exceed the 25,000 Metric Ton CO2e Threshold
There are three versions of the CO2e Calculator. The three versions reflect three different sets of global warming potentials (GWPs) that are applied to nitrous oxide and fluorinated GHGs in different years under different circumstances.
Determining whether and when you must begin reporting your imports and exports
If you have not previously calculated your CO2e imports or exports for any year, we recommend beginning with the first year after 2009 during which you imported or exported nitrous oxide, fluorinated GHGs, and/or CO2.
Imported and/or exported from 2010 through 2013: Use CO2e Calculator for RY 2010 through RY 2013 (XLS) (107 K, About XLS) to see whether either your imports or your exports exceeded the 25,000-metric-ton-CO2e threshold in any year between 2010 and 2013. If so, you are required to report your imports and exports from that year and at least the following two years (40 CFR 98.2(i)). If not and you continued importing and/or exporting in 2014, use the CO2e Calculator for RY 2014 (below) to see whether either your imports or your exports exceeded the 25,000-metric-ton-CO2e threshold in 2014.
Began importing and/or exporting in 2014: Use CO2e Calculator for RY 2014 (XLS) (111 K, About XLS) to see whether either your imports or your exports exceeded the 25,000-metric-ton-CO2e threshold in 2014. If so, you are required to report your 2014 imports and exports by March 31, 2015. (You are also required to report at least your 2015 and 2016 imports and exports by March 31 of the year following the imports and exports under 40 CFR 98.2(i).) If not and you plan to continue importing and/or exporting in 2015, use the CO2e Calculator for RY 2015 and Beyond (below) to see whether either your anticipated imports or your anticipated exports may exceed the 25,000-metric-ton-CO2e threshold in 2015.
Began importing and/or exporting in 2015 or later years: Use CO2e Calculator for RY 2015 and Beyond (XLS) (233 K, About XLS) to see whether either your anticipated imports or your anticipated exports may exceed the 25,000-metric-ton-CO2e threshold in 2015 or later years. If so, you are required to report your imports and exports from that year and at least the following two years (40 CFR 98.2(i)).
Determining whether you must continue to report your imports and exports
If you were required to report 2012 imports and exports: Use CO2e Calculator for RY 2014 (XLS) (111 K, About XLS) to see whether both your 2013 imports and your 2013 exports fell below 15,000 metric tons CO2e.* If both your imports and your exports fall below 15,000 metric tons of CO2e for three years, or below 25,000 metric tons of CO2e for five years, you may cease reporting your imports and exports provided you notify EPA of the cessation of reporting and explain the reasons for the reduction (40 CFR 98.2(i)).
If you were required to report 2013 and later imports and exports: Use CO2e Calculator for RY 2015 and Beyond (XLS) (233 K, About XLS) to see whether both your 2014 imports and your 2014 exports fell below 15,000 metric tons CO2e.* If both your imports and your exports fall below 15,000 metric tons of CO2e for three years, or below 25,000 metric tons of CO2e for five years, you may cease reporting your imports and exports provided you notify EPA of the cessation of reporting and explain the reasons for the reduction (40 CFR 98.2(i)).
* When a change to GWPs becomes effective, facilities and suppliers that are already subject to the GHGRP must use the updated GWPs to calculate and report their CO2e emissions or supplies from the previous year. Thus, facilities reporting 2013 emissions and supplies in 2014 are required to use the GWPs in effect in 2014, and facilities reporting 2014 emissions and supplies in 2015 are required to use the GWPs in effect in 2015. The same holds true for facilities that are already subject to the GHGRP and that are using the CO2e Calculator to determine whether they must continue to report. Thus, for example, facilities that (1) reported their 2013 imports and exports in 2014 and (2) are using the CO2e Calculator to determine whether they must also report their 2014 imports and exports in 2015 are required to use the CO2e Calculator for RY 2015 and Beyond, which includes the GWPs that went into effect in 2015. In contrast, facilities that have not been previously subject to the GHGRP may continue to use the GWPs that were in effect in the previous year to see whether their emissions or supplies exceeded 25,000 mtCO2e in the previous year. Otherwise, the applicability of the rule could be determined only after the date that monitoring should have begun. Thus, facilities that are using the CO2e Calculator to determine whether they must begin reporting in 2015 (i.e., beginning with their 2014 imports and exports) should use the CO2e Calculator for RY 2014, which includes the GWPs that were in effect in 2014.