For Primary Suppliers | CFIF ERFP Fixed-Rate CFR Compliance

The CFR Obligation

Three ways to meet your reduction requirement

Under Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations, primary fuel suppliers must satisfy an annual carbon intensity reduction requirement. You have three compliance pathways:

Blend or produce lower-CI fuels

Generate compliance credits directly by producing or supplying fuels with a carbon intensity below the CFR’s annual targets — for example, by blending ethanol into gasoline or biodiesel into diesel. Credits you generate can be used for your own compliance obligation or sold on the open market.

Open market credits

Purchase CFR compliance credits on the open market. Prices are volatile, supply is uncertain, and every credit purchased transfers an obligation that already exists. It funds nothing new.

ERFP contribution (CFIF)

Contribute up to 10% of your annual reduction requirement to an approved Emissions Reduction Funding Program. Your contribution funds real Canadian clean fuel and emissions reduction projects.

10%

of your annual reduction requirement

can be satisfied through CFIF contributions at a fixed rate, with full market visibility before you commit. Annual decision. No long‑term lock‑in.

Why CFIF

Four reasons Primary Suppliers choose CFIF

Price certainty

CFIF locks in a fixed contribution rate for the compliance year, eliminating price volatility. Open market credit prices have risen substantially since the CFR took effect and continue to trend upward.

Budget predictability

Budget compliance costs for up to 10% of your annual reduction requirement with complete certainty. No surprise price spikes. Annual contribution decision with full market visibility before committing.

Industry governance

CFIF is governed entirely by market participants who understand feedstock risk, offtake structures, and how clean fuel projects actually get financed. No government body sets the criteria or influences project selection.

Real Canadian impact

100% of contributed funds are deployed as non-repayable grants to Canadian clean fuel projects and emissions reduction initiatives, putting long-term downward pressure on credit prices for all obligated parties.

Illustrative Savings

What CFIF contributions can save your organization

Example: Primary Supplier with 1,000,000 credit reduction requirement. ERFP-eligible: 100,000 credits (10% maximum under CFR).

Scenario	CFIF Fixed Rate	Potential Savings (100,000 credits)
Market at $385/credit	$379/credit	$600,000
Market at $400/credit	$379/credit	$2,100,000
Market at $410/credit	$379/credit	$3,100,000
Market at $425/credit	$379/credit	$4,600,000
Market at $450/credit	$379/credit	$7,100,000

For illustrative purposes only. Actual savings depend on market conditions at the time of the contribution decision.

Common Questions

Primary Supplier FAQs

What is Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations?+

Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR) are federal regulations that require producers and importers of liquid fossil fuels (gasoline and diesel) to reduce the carbon intensity of the fuels they supply. Primary Suppliers — companies that produce or import more than 400 cubic metres of gasoline or diesel annually — must satisfy an annual carbon intensity reduction requirement. Each year, the requirement increases, reaching 14 gCO2e/MJ below the 2016 baseline by 2030. Primary Suppliers can meet this obligation by creating compliance credits, purchasing credits on the open market, or contributing up to 10% of their requirement to a registered Emissions Reduction Funding Program (ERFP) such as CFIF.

What is an ERFP?+

An Emissions Reduction Funding Program (ERFP) is a compliance mechanism established under Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations. Primary Suppliers may contribute up to 10% of their annual carbon intensity reduction requirement to a registered ERFP instead of purchasing open-market compliance credits. The ERFP pools those contributions and deploys them as grants to Canadian clean fuel and emissions reduction projects — funding new capacity rather than simply transferring existing compliance obligations. CFIF is an ERFP that is industry-governed, with no government influence over project selection. ECCC approval is pending.

Is CFIF approved under the CFR?+

CFIF's application as a registered ERFP is pending ECCC approval. Contribution structures are built to the exact specifications of a compliant ERFP under the CFR. Engage now to be positioned to participate immediately once approval is confirmed.

Are contributions locked in for the full year?+

Contribution decisions can be made at any point during the compliance year, giving your organization full market visibility before committing. There is no long-term lock-in beyond the annual compliance period.

Can I direct my contribution to a specific project?+

Yes. Through CFIF's Contributor Priority Program (CPP), Primary Suppliers can direct their contributions to specific projects that meet ERFP requirements, while maintaining full CFR compliance. If no qualifying directed projects are approved, funds flow to the broader CFIF pool.

How is CFIF different from ERA's Fuel Innovation Fund?+

CFIF is governed entirely by industry. Through the Industry Priority Forum (IPF), contributors gain a seat at the table on the technical, policy, and market issues shaping Canada's clean fuels sector. And CFIF is the only ERFP structuring capital to make clean fuel projects bankable to institutional lenders.

Ready to lock in your rate for 2025?

We'll walk you through the full mechanics. Every Primary Supplier that engages now helps define what Canadian clean fuel capacity looks like at scale. One call. No commitment. Your industry. Your call.

Ana Avramovic, B.Comm., Executive Director aa@cleanfuels.ca

Keith Driver, B.Sc., M.Sc., MBA, Technical Director kd@cleanfuels.ca

Jonathan Cocker, B.A., LL.B., LSO Licensee, Operations & Development Director jd@cleanfuels.ca

Shawn McMillan, CPA, CA, ICD.D, Chief Financial Officer sm@cleanfuels.ca

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Your CFR compliance,simplified.