Regulatory Policy for Low Carbon Water Certificates (LCWC).

This Regulatory Policy for Low Carbon Water Certificates is a sub-sectoral document aiming to establish a Low Carbon Water Certificate (LCWC) Scheme to support and highlight efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of desalinated water production in Abu Dhabi. The scheme functions as a tracking system to reliably communicate the emissions footprint associated with electricity consumption during the water production phase, specifically from Reverse Osmosis devices using clean energy sources like nuclear or renewable power. This Scheme enables the traceability of CO2 emission-free desalinated water production to the final consumer, focusing solely on the CO2 emissions from electricity used during production and not covering emissions from water pumping, transmission, or distribution. The Department of Energy (DoE) is responsible for implementing the Policy and issuing the LCWCs, while the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) is tasked with requesting and trading the certificates. The Evident I-REC(E) Registry serves as the central registry for the scheme.
The main parties involved in the Low Carbon Water Certificate (LCWC) Scheme include (i) the Water Registrant, which is primarily the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) acting as the sole registrant for licensed desalinated water producers, with the potential for other registrants as permitted by the Department of Energy (DoE); (ii) the Water Participant, which is also EWEC as the sole participant for trading certificates, with the possibility of additional participants; (iii) the Local Issuer, which is the DoE, responsible for issuing LCWCs; (iv) the Low Carbon Water Production Registry, which maintains records of the certificates' lifecycle. The document provides also for certification process fees and Low Carbon Water Registry services fees.