European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS)
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.
The scheme will work on a “Cap and Trade” basis. EU Member State governments are required to set a carbon emission cap for all installations covered by the Scheme.
Each installation will then be allocated allowances for the particular commitment period in question. The number of allowances allocated to each installation for any given period, (the number of tradable allowances each installation will receive), will be set down in a document called the National Allocation Plan.
Anyone who is not covered by the Scheme will be able to open an account on the registry and buy and sell carbon allowances.
The objective is to promote cost-effective and economically efficient reductions in greenhouse gas emissions within the Member States.
The EU ETS came into effect in January 2005 and is implemented in two phases, in 2005 and 2008 respectively. The first phase affects only specific businesses: Brick/Ceramics, Cement, Chemicals, Food & Drink, Glass, Iron & Steel, Lime, Non-Ferrous, Offshore including gas production, Other combustion activities, Pulp & Paper and Refineries.
Companies ignoring the potential impact of the scheme will almost certainly incur additional energy costs. We can help you with this scheme and make sure that these potential energy costs are kept to a minimum and our expertise and experience can be extremely valuable, saving both time and money.
If you need independent advice on the EU ETS, energy conservation, exemptions, reductions in CCL or VAT, or assistance with your energy monitoring and targeting, please email us at info@businesscostconsultants.co.uk or call us on 0141 226 8525.