European Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) (Aviation) Regulations 2010

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 261/2010
• Year: 2010

INDEX

1. Citation

2. Interpretation

3. Purpose and Application

4. Administering Member State

5. Competent Authority

6. Trading Periods

7. Monitoring Plan for Emissions

8. Monitoring Plan for Tonne-Kilometre Data

9. Fee

10. Monitoring of Emissions

11. Monitoring of Tonne-Kilometre Data

12. Reporting and Verification of Emissions

13. Application for and Allocation of Allowances free of charge

14. Special Reserve for certain aircraft operators

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. Issue of Direction

19. Direction

20. Service of Direction

21. Appeal from a Direction issued under Regulation 18

22. Injunctive Relief

23. Offences

24. Access to information

25. Registry

26. Central Administrator — Irregularities on Transactions in the Registry

27. Assistance to be provided by the Irish Aviation Authority

28. Authorised Officer

29. Reporting to the Commission

30. Revocation

Schedule 1

Categories of Activities

Schedule 2

Greenhouse Gases

Schedule 3

Principles for Monitoring and Reporting

Schedule 4

Criteria for Verification

S.I. No. 261 of 2010

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS TRADING) (AVIATION) REGULATIONS 2010

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 8th June, 2010.

I, JOHN GORMLEY, Minister for the Environment, Heritage 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 2003 1 , as amended by Directive 2004/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 2 and Directive 2008/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 3 hereby make the following regulations:

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) (Aviation) Regulations 2010.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“administering Member State” means the Member State responsible for administering the Community scheme in respect of an aircraft operator in accordance with Regulation 4;

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

“aircraft operator” means the person who operates an aircraft at the time it performs an aviation activity listed in Schedule 1 or, where that person is not known or is not identified by the owner of the aircraft, the owner of the aircraft;

“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;

“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;

“attributed aviation emissions” means emissions from all flights falling within the aviation activities listed in Schedule 1 which depart from an aerodrome situated in the territory of a Member State and those which arrive in such an aerodrome from a third country;

“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;

“commercial air transport operator” means an operator that, for remuneration, provides scheduled or non-scheduled air transport services to the public for the carriage of passengers, freight or mail;

“Commission” means the Commission of the European Communities;

“Commission for Aviation Regulation” means the Commission for Aviation Regulation established under section 5 of the Aviation Regulation Act 2001 (No. 1 of 2001);

“Commission’s Interpretation of Aviation Activities” means Commission Decision of 8 June 2009 4 on the detailed interpretation of the aviation activities listed in Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC 5 ;

“Commission’s Monitoring and Reporting Guidelines” means Commission Decision of 18 July 2007 6 establishing guidelines for the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC5, as amended by Commission Decision of 17 December 2008 7 as regards the inclusion of monitoring and reporting guidelines for emissions of nitrous oxide, and by Commission Decision of 16 April 2009 8 as regards the inclusion of monitoring and reporting guidelines for emissions and tonne-kilometre data from aviation activities;

“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 18;

“Directive” means Directive 2003/87/EC of 13 October 20035 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC 9 , as amended by Directive 2004/101/EC of 27 October 2004 10 in respect of the Kyoto Protocol’s project mechanisms, and by Directive 2008/101/EC of 19 November 2008 11 so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community;

“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;

“emissions” means the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from an aircraft performing an aviation activity listed in Schedule 1 of the gases specified in respect of that activity;

“greenhouse gases” means the gases listed in Schedule 2;

“historical aviation emissions” means the mean average of the annual emissions in the calendar years 2004, 2005 and 2006 from aircraft performing an aviation activity listed in Schedule 1;

“Irish Aviation Authority” means the Irish Aviation Authority established under the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993 (No. 29 of 1993);

“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government;

“person” means any natural or legal person;

“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;

“Protocol” means the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;

“public” means one or more persons and associations, organisations or groups of persons; and

“tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent” means one metric tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) or an amount of any other greenhouse gas listed in Schedule 2 with an equivalent global-warming potential.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Directive has the same meaning in these Regulations that it has in the Directive.

(3) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Commission’s Monitoring and Reporting Guidelines has the same meaning in these Regulations that it has in the Commission’s Monitoring and Reporting Guidelines.

Purpose and Application

3. (1) These Regulations provide for the implementation in the State of a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the European Community in order to promote reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from aviation activities in a cost effective and economically efficient manner.

(2) These Regulations apply to emissions from aviation activities listed in Schedule 1.

Administering Member State

4. (1) The administering Member State in respect of an aircraft operator shall be the State—

(a) in the case of an aircraft operator with a valid operating licence granted by the Commission for Aviation Regulation in accordance with the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 of 23 July 1992 12 on licensing of air carriers, and

(b) in the case of an aircraft operator who does not have a valid operating licence in accordance with the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2407/92 of 23 July 199212 on licensing of air carriers from any Member State, where the greatest estimated aviation emissions from flights performed by that aircraft operator in the base year are attributable to the State.

(2) The administering Member State shall be the State for those aircraft operators assigned to the State in accordance with the list of aircraft operators published by the Commission pursuant to Article 18a(3) of the Directive.

(3) For the purposes of this Regulation, “base year” means, in relation to an aircraft operator which started operating in the Community after 1 January 2006, the first calendar year of operation, and in all other cases, the calendar year starting on 1 January 2006.

(4) (a) Where in the first two years of any period referred to in Regulation 6, none of the attributed aviation emissions from flights performed by an aircraft operator falling within Regulation 4(1)(b) are attributed to the State, the aircraft operator shall be transferred to another administering Member State in respect of the next period.

(b) The new administering Member State shall be the Member State with the greatest estimated attributed aviation emissions from flights performed by that aircraft operator during the first two years of the previous...