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S.I. NO. 706 OF 2005
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EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (GREENHOUSE GAS
EMISSIONS TRADING) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2005
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The Minister for the Environment, Heritage
and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section
3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose
of giving effect to Directive 2003/87/EC1
of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 13th October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse
gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council
Directive 96/61/EC2 , as amended by Directive 2004/101/EC3 of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 27th October 2004
in respect of the Kyoto Protocol's project mechanisms, hereby makes the
following Regulations:-
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Citation
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1. (1) These
Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Greenhouse Gas
Emissions Trading) (Amendment) Regulations 2005.
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(2) These Regulations and the European
Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) Regulations 2004 may be cited
together as the European Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading)
Regulations 2004 to 2005.
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Commencement
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2. These
Regulations shall come into operation on 11 November 2005.
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Interpretation
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3. In
these Regulations:-
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“the 2004 Regulations” means the European Communities (Greenhouse
Gas Emissions Trading) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 437 of 2004 ).
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Objective
and Scope
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4. These
Regulations provide for the amendment of the European Communities
(Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 437 of 2004 )
in order to provide for the linking of the Kyoto Protocol's project mechanisms
to the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the
European Community.
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Amendment
of the 2004 Regulations
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5. The 2004
Regulations are amended:-
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(a) In Article 2 by
inserting at the appropriate point in alphabetical order:
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““Annex I Party” means a Party listed in Annex I to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that has ratified the Kyoto
Protocol as specified in Article 1(7) of the Protocol;”
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““certified emission reduction unit” means a unit issued pursuant to
Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol and the decisions adopted pursuant to the
Convention or the Protocol”
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““the Convention” means the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change;”
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““emission reduction unit” means a unit issued pursuant to Article 6
of the Protocol and the decisions adopted pursuant to the Convention or the
Protocol;”
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““project activity” means a project activity within the meaning of
Article 6 or Article 12 of the Protocol and the decisions adopted pursuant
to the Convention or the Protocol;”
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““the Protocol” means the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the 1992 United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;”
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““the registry” means the registry established and maintained by the
Agency for the purposes of article 19 of the 2004 Regulations;”
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and by replacing the definition of “directive” with:-
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““directive” means Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 13th October 2003 establishing a scheme for
greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending
Council Directive 96/61/EC, as amended by Directive 2004/101/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 27th October 2004 in
respect of the Kyoto Protocol's project mechanisms;”.
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(b) In Article 9,
by inserting after sub-article (1):-
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“(1a) In respect of each period specified in
sub-article 2(b), the Agency shall, in accordance with the direction
provided by the Minister, state in each National Allocation Plan Ireland's
intention on the use of emission reduction units and certified emission
reduction units. The Agency shall also specify in each Plan, in accordance
with the overall direction provided by the Minister, the amount of emission
reduction units and certified emission reduction units that may be used for
the purposes of compliance with article 12(3) in respect of each
installation. The amount allowed shall be expressed as a percentage of the
allocation for each installation.”
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(c) In Article 11,
by inserting after sub-article (3):-
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“(4) For the purpose of article
12(3), the Agency may, subject to sub-articles (5) and (6), approve the use
of emission reduction units or certified emission reduction units through
the issue and immediate surrender of one allowance in exchange for one
emission reduction unit or one certified emission reduction unit held by an
operator in the registry.”
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(5) Emission reduction units
may not be used for compliance with article 12(3) in respect of the period
referred to in article 9(2)(a).
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(6) Emission reduction units
or certified emission reduction units generated from project activities
related to:-
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(a) nuclear facilities; or
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(b) land use, land use change or
forestry activities;
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may not be used for the purpose of compliance with article 12(3).
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(7) For each period specified
in article 9 (2)(b), an operator may only use emission reduction units or
certified emission reduction units for compliance with article 12(3) up to
the limit specified in the National Allocation Plan for that period.”
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(d) In
Article 19, by replacing sub-article (1) with:-
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“(1) The Agency shall establish and
maintain, or cause to be established and maintained, a registry in order to
ensure the accurate accounting of:-
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(a) the issue, holding, transfer and
cancellation of allowances,
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(b) the holding, transfer and
cancellation of emission reduction units and certified emission reduction
units,
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and may do so in a consolidated manner with the registry of one or
more Member States of the European Communities.”
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(e) In
Article 21, by replacing sub-article (1) with:-
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“(1) The Agency shall submit to the
Commission an annual report on the application of these Regulations,
providing information on the allocation of allowances, the use of emission
reduction units and certified emission reduction units in the Community
scheme, the operation of the registry, the application of the Commission's
Monitoring and Reporting Guidelines, the verification of reports on
emissions, compliance with these Regulations, and the fiscal treatment of
allowances, if any.”
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(f) In
Schedule 3, by inserting after paragraph (11):-
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“(12) The plan shall specify the maximum amount
of emission reduction units and certified emission reduction units which may
be used by operators in the Community scheme as a percentage of the
allocation of the allowances to each installation.”
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Given under the Official Seal of the
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
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This 11th day of November 2005.
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Dick Roche T.D.
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and
Local Government.
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EXPLANATORY NOTE
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(This note is not part of the Regulations and does not purport to be
a legal interpretation)
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These Regulations transpose Directive
2004/101/EC4 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 27th October 2004 in connection with the Kyoto
Protocol's project mechanisms. The European Community greenhouse gas
emissions trading scheme was established pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003, which was
transposed into Irish law in the European Communities (Greenhouse Gas
Emissions Trading) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 437 of 2004 ). Trading under
the Community Scheme commenced on 1 January 2005.
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These Regulations amend S.I. No. 437 of 2004 to
allow operators in the Community Scheme to use certified emissions reduction
units (CERs) or emissions reduction units (ERUs) for the purposes of compliance with their
obligations under the Scheme. An operator in the Community Scheme who wishes
to participate in project activities under the Kyoto Protocol's Flexible
Mechanisms (the Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation) or to
purchase credits from such project activities, may use the credits for the
purposes of meeting the requirement to surrender a number of allowances by
30 April each year equal to the total emissions from the installation during
the previous year.
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Only certified emissions reductions units (CERs), which arise from projects under the Clean
Development Mechanism, may be used by operators for the purposes of
compliance during the pilot phase of the Community Scheme (1 January 2005 -
31 December 2007). Thereafter, both certified emissions reductions units and
emissions reductions units may be used by operators in the Community Scheme.
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The Regulations stipulate that emission
reduction units or certified emission reduction units generated from project
activities related to nuclear facilities or land use, land use change or
forestry project activities may not be used by operators in the Community
Scheme.
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1 OJ L 275/32 of
25.10.2003
2 OJ L 257/26 of
10.10.1996
3 OJ L 338/18 of
13.11.2004
4 OJ L 338/18 of
13.11.2004
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