UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) greenhouse gas emissions permit

Where this applies

This record is scoped to United Kingdom. Scope is part of the claim: a rule that binds one part of a country does not bind the whole of it, and this library states the scope its sources state.

Instrument

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020, SI 2020/1265, art. 26 (as amended). Made 11 November 2020; art. 2(1): "Except as provided by paragraph (2), this Order comes into force on the day after the day on which it is made." Article 26 was in force at 12 November 2020.

Who it binds

Operators carrying out a regulated activity at a UK installation, plus aircraft operators on covered routes and maritime operators of ships of 5000 GT and above.

What it requires

Under article 26(1) of SI 2020/1265, "No person may carry out a regulated activity at an installation in a scheme year unless the operator of the installation holds a greenhouse gas emissions permit or a hospital or small emitter permit for the installation that authorises the regulated activity to be carried out." Schedule 2 Table C puts the main threshold at "Combustion of fuels on a site where combustion units with a total rated thermal input exceeding 20 megawatts are operated". This is a regulatory regime rather than a certification scheme: the operator monitors under an approved monitoring plan, submits a verified annual emissions report to its regulator by 31 March, and surrenders allowances for the previous scheme year by 30 April. The report is checked by a verifier that gov.uk states must be "accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to ISO 14065 and the Verification Regulation" — the accreditation sits with the verifier, and the operator ends up with a verified report, not a certificate. Article 52 sets the excess emissions penalty at "£100 multiplied by the inflation factor for each allowance that the operator, the aircraft operator, or the maritime operator fails to surrender". Article 51 sets a separate civil penalty for failing to comply with a permit condition or requirement: "(a) £20,000; and (b) a daily penalty at a daily rate of £500 for each day that the operator fails to comply with the condition or requirement, beginning with the day on which the initial notice is given, up to a maximum of £45,000." Neither figure was calculated here; article 51 carries no inflation factor, and its amounts are unchanged from the Order as made. Article 26(1) does not apply to a regulated activity at an installation that is an ultra-small emitter for that scheme year, and Schedule 2 para. 2(2)(d) places "a relevant Northern Ireland electricity generator" outside the definition of installation. On Northern Ireland, gov.uk states that "Northern Ireland electricity generators remain in the EU ETS under the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol" — reproduced as that page words it.

Related records and requirements

• Energy and Environment — Applies if you carry out a regulated activity at an installation as SI 2020/1265 Schedule 2 defines it.
• Manufacturing and Industry — Applies if you carry out a regulated activity at an installation as SI 2020/1265 Schedule 2 defines it.