Jurisdiction: UK
Commencement: 1st May 2021
Amends:
- The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012
- Environment Act 1995
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) and National Emissions Inventory Regulations 2005
The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012 Implement the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) into UK law.
The Environment Act 1995 creates a number of new agencies and set new standards for environmental management, regarding contaminated land and abandoned mines, national parks and air quality.
The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) and National Emissions Inventory Regulations 2005 establish an application procedure by which a person may apply to the Secretary of State for approval of one of the project activities established under the Kyoto Protocol or for authorisation to participate in the project activity.
The Environment Agency is no longer required to take account of European Union (EU) laws when considering applications for Kyoto Protocol projects* as the UK is no longer part of the EU. Instead, it must ensure that the UK’s relevant international climate law obligations are satisfied; this includes the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol**.
*Kyoto Protocol projects are emission-reduction projects used to earn certified emission reduction (CER) credits under the Protocol. These can be either Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or Joint Implementation projects.
**The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international climate treaty. The Protocol commits industrialised countries and economies to limiting and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, including the UK.
There are no changes to duties for organisations.
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