European Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) Regulations 2012

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 490/2012
• Year: 2012

INDEX

1. Citation

2. Commencement

3. Interpretation

4. Purpose and Application

5. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Permits

6. Applications for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Permits

7. Conditions for and Contents of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Permits

8. Changes relating to Installations

9. Co-ordination with Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Licensing

10. National Allocation Plan in the Pilot and Kyoto Periods

11. Method of Allocation in the Pilot and Kyoto Periods

12. Allocation and Issue of Allowances in the Pilot and Kyoto Periods

13. Community-wide Quantity of Allowances for the Third Trading Period

14. National Implementation Measures for the Third and Subsequent Trading Periods

15. Use of CERs and ERUs from Project Activities in the Community Scheme

16. Transfer, Surrender and Cancellation of Allowances

17. Validity of Allowances

18. Monitoring and Reporting of Emissions

19. Verification and Accreditation

20. Issue of Direction

21. Direction

22. Service of Direction

23. Appeal from a Direction Issued by the Agency

24. Injunctive Relief

25. Authorised Officer

26. Offences

27. Access to Information

28. Disclosure of Information and Confidentiality

29. Competent Authority

30. Union Registry

31. Reporting to the Commission

32. Procedures for Inclusion of Additional Activities and Gases

33. Amendment of Procedures for Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Licensing

34. Designation of Focal Point and National Authority and Establishment of Registry

35. Approval of Project Activities

36. Power of the Agency to Request Further Information

37. Fees for Letters of Approval

38. Revocation

Schedule 1

Categories of Activities

Schedule 2

Greenhouse Gases

Schedule 3

Criteria for National Allocation Plans

Schedule 4

Principles for Monitoring and Reporting

Schedule 5

Criteria for Verification

Schedule 6

Categories of Activities in First and Second Trading Periods

S.I. No. 490 of 2012

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS TRADING) REGULATIONS 2012

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 7th December, 2012.

I, PHIL HOGAN, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and by sections 6 and 53 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (No. 7 of 1992) and for the purpose of giving further effect to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 20031 , as amended by Directive 2004/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 20042 , Directive 2008/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 20083 , and Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 20094 , and for the purpose of giving full effect to Commission Regulation (EU) No 1031/2010 of 12 November 20105 , hereby make the following regulations:

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) Regulations 2012.

Commencement

2. (1) These Regulations (other than Regulations 15 and 28) come into operation on 30th November 2012.

(2) Regulations 15 and 28 come into operation on 1 January 2013.

Interpretation

3. (1) In these Regulations—

"1992 Act” means the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (No. 7 of 1992);

“1996 Act” means the Waste Management Act 1996 (No. 10 of 1996);

“Agency” means the Environmental Protection Agency established under section 19 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (No. 7 of 1992);

“allocate” means the intention to issue allowances as indicated in the final decision as notified to the Commission under Regulation 10;

“allowance” means an allowance to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent during a specified period, which shall be valid only for the purposes of meeting the requirements of these Regulations and shall be transferable in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations;

“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;

“approval” means, in relation to a proposed project activity, the approval or authorisation, as appropriate, required under Article 6 or Article 12 of the Protocol;

“assigned amount unit” is a unit issued pursuant to Article 3 of the Kyoto Protocol and the decisions adopted pursuant to the Convention and the Protocol;

“certified emission reduction unit” or "CER" means a unit issued pursuant to Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol and the decisions adopted pursuant to the Convention or the Protocol;

“combustion” means any oxidation of fuels, regardless of the way in which the heat, electrical or mechanical energy produced by this process is used, and any other directly associated activities, including waste gas scrubbing, and is without prejudice to any decision taken under any national allocation plan in accordance with Regulation 10;

“Commission” means the Commission of the European Communities;

“Commissions Auctioning Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EU) No 1031/2010 of 12 November 20105 on the timing, administration and other aspects of auctioning of greenhouse gas emission allowances pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC1;

"Commissions Free Allocation Rules" means Commission Decision of 27 April 20116 determining transitional Union-wide rules for harmonised free allocation of emission allowances pursuant to Article 10a of the Directive and any associated guidance published by the Commission;

“Commission’s Interpretation of Aviation Activities” means Commission Decision of 8 June 20097 on the detailed interpretation of the aviation activities listed in Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC1;

“Commission’s Monitoring and Reporting Guidelines” means Commission Decision of 18 July 20078 establishing guidelines for the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC1, as amended by Commission Decision of 17 December 20089 as regards the inclusion of monitoring and reporting guidelines for emissions of nitrous oxide, by Commission Decision of 16 April 200910 as regards the inclusion of monitoring and reporting guidelines for emissions and tonne-kilometre data from aviation activities, and by Commission Decision of 8 June 201011 as regards the inclusion of monitoring and reporting guidelines for greenhouse gas emissions from the capture, transport and geological storage of carbon dioxide;

“Commission’s Monitoring and Reporting Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EU) No 601/2012 of 21 June 201212 on the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC1;

"Commissions Restrictions on Industrial Gas Credits" means Commission Regulation (EU) No 550/2011 of 7 June 201113 on determining certain restrictions applicable to the use of international credits from projects involving industrial gases;

“Commission’s Verification and Accreditation Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EU) No 600/2012 of 21 June 201214 on the verification of greenhouse gas emission reports and tonne-kilometre reports and the accreditation of verifiers pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC1;

“Community scheme” means the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the European Community provided for in the Directive;

“competent authority” means, in respect of the State, the Agency, and in respect of other Member States of the European Communities, any competent authority specified in the national law of that State as notified by the Commission;

“Convention” means the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;

"direction" means a direction issued by the Agency pursuant to Regulation 20;

"Directive" means Directive 2003/87/EC of 13 October 20031 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC15 , as amended by Directive 2004/101/EC of 27 October 20042 in respect of the Kyoto Protocol’s project mechanisms, by Directive 2008/101/EC of 19 November 20083 so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community, by Regulation (EC) No 219/2009 of 11 March 200916 on adaptation to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny, and by Directive 2009/29/EC of 23 April 20094 so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Community;

"Directive 2009/31/EC" means Directive 2009/31/EC of 23 April 200917 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide;

“electricity generator” means an installation that, on or after 1 January 2005, has produced electricity for sale to third parties, and in which no activity listed in Schedule 1 is carried out other than the ‘combustion of fuels’;

“emissions” means the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from sources in an installation of the gases specified in respect of that activity;

“emission reduction unit” or "ERU" means a unit issued pursuant to Article 6 of the Protocol and the decisions adopted pursuant to the Convention or the Protocol;

“enactment” means an Act or statutory instrument or any portion of an Act or statutory instrument;

“greenhouse gases” means the gases listed in Schedule 2 and other gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and re-emit infrared radiation;

“greenhouse gas emissions permit” means a permit granted under Regulation 7;

“host country” means a country which is a Party to the Kyoto Protocol and in which a project activity will take place;

“installation” means, up to 31 December 2012, a stationary technical unit where one or more activities listed in Schedule 6 may be carried...