European Union Emissions Trading Scheme

The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is one of the policies being introduced across Europe to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and combat the serious threat of climate change. Phase I of the Scheme began on 1 January 2005 and will run until 31 December 2007. Phase II will run from 2008-2012 to coincide with the first Kyoto Protocol commitment period.

An introductory guide
Introduction to the EU ETS.

The UK National Allocation Plan (Phase I)
The UK Phase I NAP, allocation methodology, temporary exclusion, new entrants, late and missing entrants, closure and auctioning, and other Member States' NAPs.

Permits, monitoring and reporting, and verification
How to obtain a permit, baseline and annual verification, and guidance on monitoring and reporting.

Emissions trading registry
EU/UN Registry development, UK EU ETS Registry, frequently asked questions, useful links, glossary of terms and contacts.

Phase II
The Government's approach to Phase II, and details of how stakeholders can become involved in policy development.

Review of the EU ETS
To develop the EU Emissions Trading Scheme  in a positive way post-2012 and learn from our experiences so far.

Future Developments of the EU ETS
Aviation, the Commission’s review of the Scheme, Linking to Other Schemes, and surface transport.

Linking to Kyoto mechanisms
Joint Implementation (JI), Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the Linking Directive.

Further information
EU ETS Directive and Regulations, impacts of EU ETS on industry, market development, consultations, guidance notes, other useful documents, the European Commission and contacts.

News and announcements

• 30 October 2006 - The Government has today announced a UK Vision for Emissions Trading, following the publication of Sir Nicholas Stern's review on the "Economics of Climate Change published today
• 12 September 2006 - Operators have a right of appeal against missing and late entrant allocation decisions. Defra has published this procedure.
• 21 August 2006 - The Government has submitted the National Allocation Plan for Phase II to the European Commission. At the same time the list of installation level allocation was published for an 8 week consultation. See the news release for further information.
• 17 July 2006 - Consultation on the exclusion of certain small emitters in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, Phase II
• 29 June 2006 - The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has made a parliamentary statement on Phase II of the EU ETS. Read the statement and the news release.
  Update - See Phase II page for more detailed explanation of the figures.
• 15 May 2006 - The results of the first year of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, which sets a cap on carbon dioxide emissions from European industries, were published today. See the news release for further information.

Previous EU ETS announcements

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