LegalizeS.I. No. 490/2012 - European Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) Regulations 2012
This is the act as published. Later amendments are not folded into the text below: each one is a separate act in this repository and an entry in this law's history.
3 amending acts · 2024-09-20, S.I. No. 470/2024 - European Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) Regulations 2024
| Activities | Greenhouse gases |
| Combustion of fuels in installations with a total rated thermal input exceeding 20 MW (except in installations for the incineration of hazardous or municipal waste) | Carbon dioxide |
| Refining of mineral oil | Carbon dioxide |
| Production of coke | Carbon dioxide |
| Metal ore (including sulphide ore) roasting or sintering, including pelletisation | Carbon dioxide |
| Production of pig iron or steel (primary or secondary fusion) including continuous casting, with a capacity exceeding 2.5 tonnes per hour | Carbon dioxide |
| Production or processing of ferrous metals (including ferro-alloys) where combustion units with a total rated thermal input exceeding 20 MW are operated. Processing includes, inter alia, rolling mills, re-heaters, annealing furnaces, smitheries, foundries, coating and pickling | Carbon dioxide |
| Production of primary aluminium | Carbon dioxide and perfluorocarbons |
| Production of secondary aluminium where combustion units with a total rated thermal input exceeding 20 MW are operated | Carbon dioxide |
| Production or processing of non-ferrous metals, including production of alloys, refining, foundry casting, etc., where combustion units with a total rated thermal input (including fuels used as reducing agents) exceeding 20 MW are operated | Carbon dioxide |
| Production of cement clinker in rotary kilns with a production capacity exceeding 500 tonnes per day or in other furnaces with a production capacity exceeding 50 tonnes per day | Carbon dioxide |
| Production of lime or calcination of dolomite or magnesite in rotary kilns or in other furnaces with a production capacity exceeding 50 tonnes per day | Carbon dioxide |
| Manufacture of glass including glass fibre with a melting capacity exceeding 20 tonnes per day | Carbon dioxide |
| Manufacture of ceramic products by firing, in particular roofing tiles, bricks, refractory bricks, tiles, stoneware or porcelain, with a production capacity exceeding 75 tonnes per day | Carbon dioxide |
| Manufacture of mineral wool insulation material using glass, rock or slag with a melting capacity exceeding 20 tonnes per day | Carbon dioxide |
| Drying or calcination of gypsum or production of plaster boards and other gypsum products, where combustion units with a total rated thermal input exceeding 20 MW are operated | Carbon dioxide |
| Production of pulp from timber or other fibrous materials | Carbon dioxide |
| Production of paper or cardboard with a production capacity exceeding 20 tonnes per day | Carbon dioxide |
| Production of carbon black involving the carbonisation of organic substances such as oils, tars, cracker and distillation residues, where combustion units with a total rated thermal input exceeding 20 MW are operated | Carbon dioxide |
| Production of nitric acid | Carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide |
| Production of adipic acid | Carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide |
| Production of glyoxal and glyoxylic acid | Carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide |
| Production of ammonia | Carbon dioxide |
| Production of bulk organic chemicals by cracking, reforming, partial or full oxidation or by similar processes, with a production capacity exceeding 100 tonnes per day | Carbon dioxide |
| Production of hydrogen (H2) and synthesis gas by reforming or partial oxidation with a production capacity exceeding 25 tonnes per day | Carbon dioxide |
| Production of soda ash (Na2CO3) and sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) | Carbon dioxide |
| Capture of greenhouse gases from installations covered by these Regulations for the purpose of transport and geological storage in a storage site permitted under Directive 2009/31/EC17 | Carbon dioxide |
| Transport of greenhouse gases by pipelines for geological storage in a storage site permitted under Directive 2009/31/EC17 | Carbon dioxide |
| Geological storage of greenhouse gases in a storage site permitted under Directive 2009/31/EC17 | Carbon dioxide |
| Aviation | Carbon dioxide |
| Flights which depart from or arrive in an aerodrome situated in the territory of a Member State to which the Treaty applies. | |
| The detailed interpretation of these aviation activities, including the exemptions, is set out in the Commissions Interpretation of Aviation Activities. | |
| This activity shall not include: | |
| (a) flights performed exclusively for the transport, on official mission, of a reigning Monarch and his immediate family, Heads of State, Heads of Government and Government Ministers, of a country other than a Member State, where this is substantiated by an appropriate status indicator in the flight plan; | |
| (b) military flights performed by military aircraft and customs and police flights; | |
| (c) flights related to search and rescue, fire-fighting flights, humanitarian flights and emergency medical service flights authorised by the appropriate competent authority; | |
| (d) any flights performed exclusively under visual flight rules as defined in Annex 2 to the Chicago Convention; | |
| (e) flights terminating at the aerodrome from which the aircraft has taken off and during which no intermediate landing has been made; | |
| (f) training flights performed exclusively for the purpose of obtaining a licence, or a rating in the case of cockpit flight crew where this is substantiated by an appropriate remark in the flight plan provided that the flight does not serve for the transport of passengers and/or cargo or for the positioning or ferrying of the aircraft; | |
| (g) flights performed exclusively for the purpose of scientific research or for the purpose of checking, testing or certifying aircraft or equipment whether airborne or ground-based; | |
| (h) flights performed by aircraft with a certified maximum take-off mass of less than 5,700 kg; | |
| (i) flights performed in the framework of public service obligations imposed in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2408/9218 on routes within outermost regions, as specified in Article 299(2) of the Treaty, or on routes where the capacity offered does not exceed 30,000 seats per year; and | |
| (j) flights which, but for this point, would fall within this activity, performed by a commercial air transport operator operating either: | |
| — fewer than 243 flights per period for three consecutive four-month periods, or | |
| — flights with total annual emissions lower than 10,000 tonnes per year. | |
| Flights performed exclusively for the transport, on official mission, of a reigning Monarch and his immediate family, Heads of State, Heads of Government and Government Ministers, of a Member State may not be excluded under this point. | |
18 O.J. No. L 240 24.8.1992 p. 8
SCHEDULE 2 Greenhouse Gases
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Methane (CH4)
Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6)
SCHEDULE 3 Criteria for National Allocation Plans
The total quantity of allowances to be allocated for the relevant period shall be consistent with the national obligation to limit emissions pursuant to Decision 2002/358/EC19 concerning the approval, on behalf of the European Community, of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the joint fulfilment of commitments thereunder and the Kyoto Protocol, taking into account, on the one hand, the proportion of overall emissions that these allowances represent in comparison with emissions from sources not covered by these Regulations and, on the other hand, national energy policies, and should be consistent with the National Climate Change Strategy. The total quantity of allowances to be allocated shall not be more than is likely to be needed for the strict application of the criteria of this Schedule. Prior to 2008, the quantity shall be consistent with a path towards achieving or over-achieving the national target under Decision 2002/358/EC19 concerning the approval, on behalf of the European Community, of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the joint fulfilment of commitments thereunder and the Kyoto Protocol.
19 O.J. No. L 130 15.5.2002 p. 1
The total quantity of allowances to be allocated shall be consistent with assessments of actual and projected progress towards fulfilling the national contributions to the European Community’s commitments made pursuant to Decision 93/389/EEC20 for a monitoring mechanism of Community CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, as amended by Decision 1999/296/EC21 .
20 O.J. No. L 167 9.7.1993 p. 31
21 O.J. No. L 117 5.5.1999 p. 35
Quantities of allowances to be allocated shall be consistent with the potential, including the technological potential, of activities covered by this scheme to reduce emissions. The distribution of allowances may be based on average emissions of greenhouse gases by product in each activity and achievable progress in each activity.
The plan shall be consistent with other Community legislative and policy instruments. Account should be taken of unavoidable increases in emissions resulting from new legislative requirements.
The plan shall not discriminate between companies or sectors in such a way as to unduly favour certain undertakings or activities in accordance with the requirements of the Treaty of the European Communities, in particular Articles 87 and 88 thereof.
The plan shall contain information on the manner in which new entrants will be able to begin participating in the Community scheme.
The plan may accommodate early action and shall contain information on the manner in which early action is taken into account. Benchmarks derived from reference documents concerning the best available technologies may be employed in developing national allocation plans, and these benchmarks can incorporate an element of accommodating early action.
The plan shall contain information on the manner in which clean technology, including energy efficient technologies, are taken into account.
The plan shall include provisions for comments to be expressed by the public, and contain information on the arrangements by which due account will be taken of these comments before a decision on the allocation of allowances is taken.
The plan shall contain a list of the installations covered by these Regulations with the quantities of allowances intended to be allocated to each.
The plan may contain information on the manner in which the existence of competition from countries or entities outside the European Union will be taken into account.
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.
SCHEDULE 4 Principles for Monitoring and Reporting
Monitoring and reporting of emissions from stationary installations
This Schedule shall be construed in conjunction with the Commission’s Monitoring and Reporting Guidelines up to 31 December 2012 and in accordance with the Commission’s Monitoring and Reporting Regulation from 1 January 2013.
Monitoring of carbon dioxide emissions
Emissions shall be monitored either by calculation or on the basis of measurement.
Calculation
Calculations of emissions shall be performed using the formula:
Activity data x Emission factor x Oxidation factor
Activity data (fuel used, production rate, etc.) shall be monitored on the basis of supply data or measurement.
Emission factors accepted or approved by the Agency shall be used. Activity-specific emission factors are acceptable for all fuels. Default factors are acceptable for all fuels except non-commercial ones (waste fuels such as tyres and industrial process gases). Seam-specific defaults for coal, and EU-specific or producer country-specific defaults for natural gas shall be further elaborated. IPCC default values are acceptable for refinery products. The emission factor for biomass shall be zero.
If the emission factor does not take account of the fact that some of the carbon is not oxidised, then an additional oxidation factor shall be used. If activity-specific emission factors have been calculated and already take oxidation into account, then an oxidation factor need not be applied.
Default oxidation factors developed by the InterGovernmental Panel on Climate Change shall be used, unless the operator can demonstrate that activity-specific factors are more accurate.
A separate calculation shall be made for each activity, installation and for each fuel.
Measurement
Measurement of emissions shall use standardised or accepted methods, and shall be corroborated by a supporting calculation of emissions.
Monitoring of emissions of other greenhouse gases
Standardised or accepted methods shall be used, developed by the Commission in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders and adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 23(3) of the Directive.
Reporting of emissions
Each operator shall including the following information in the report for an installation:
A. Data identifying the installation, including:—
— name of the installation;
— its address, including postcode where applicable, and country;
— type and number of activities specified in Schedules 1 and 6 carried out in the installation;
— address, telephone, fax and email details for a contact person; and
— name of the owner of the installation, and of any parent company.
B. For each activity specified in Schedules 1 and 6 carried out on the site for which emissions are calculated:—
— activity data;
— emission factors;
— oxidation factors;
— total emissions; and
— uncertainty.
C. For each activity specified in Schedules 1 and 6 carried out on the site for which emissions are measured:—
— total emissions;
— information on the reliability of measurement methods; and
— uncertainty.
D. For emissions for combustion, the report shall also include the oxidation factor, unless oxidation has already been taken into account in the development of an activity-specific emission factor.
SCHEDULE 5 Criteria for Verification
Verification of emissions from stationary installations
General Principles
Emissions from each activity listed in Schedules 1 and 6 shall be subject to verification.
The verification process shall include consideration of the report submitted pursuant to Regulation 18(2) and of monitoring during the preceding year. It shall address the reliability, credibility and accuracy of monitoring systems and the reported data and information relating to emissions, in particular:
- (a) the reported activity data and related measurements and calculations;
- (b) the choice and the employment of emission factors;
- (c) the calculations leading to the determination of the overall emissions; and
- (d) if measurement is used, the appropriateness of the choice and the employment of measuring methods.
Reported emissions may only be validated if reliable and credible data and information allow the emissions to be determined with a high degree of certainty. A high degree of certainty requires the operator to show that:-
- (a) the reported data is free of inconsistencies;
- (b) the collection of the data has been carried out in accordance with the applicable scientific standards; and
- (c) the relevant records of the installation are complete and consistent.
The verifier shall be given access to all sites and information in relation to the subject of the verification.
The verifier shall take into account whether the installation is registered under the Community eco-management and audit scheme provided for in Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2001 allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS)22 .
22 O.J. No. L 114 24.4.2001 p. 1
Methodology
Strategic analysis
The verification shall be based on a strategic analysis of all the activities carried out in the installation. This requires the verifier to have an overview of all the activities and their significance for emissions.
Process analysis
The verification of the information submitted shall, where appropriate, be carried out on the site of the installation. The verifier shall use spot-checks to determine the reliability of the reported data and information.
Risk analysis
The verifier shall submit all the sources of emissions in the installation to an evaluation with regard to the reliability of the data of each source contributing to the overall emissions of the installation.
On the basis of this analysis the verifier shall explicitly identify those sources with a high risk of error and other aspects of the monitoring and reporting procedure which are likely to contribute to errors in the determination of the overall emissions. This especially involves the choice of the emission factors and the calculations necessary to determine the level of the emissions from individual sources. Particular attention shall be given to those sources with a high risk of error and the above mentioned aspects of the monitoring procedure.
The verifier shall take into consideration any effective risk control methods applied by the operator with a view to minimising the degree of uncertainty.
Report
The verifier shall prepare a report on the validation process stating whether the report pursuant to Regulation 18(2) is satisfactory. This report shall specify all issues relevant to the work carried out. A statement that the report pursuant to Regulation 18(2) is satisfactory may be made if, in the opinion of the verifier, the total emissions are not materially mis-stated.
Minimum competency requirements for the verifier
The verifier shall be independent of the operator, carry out his activities in a sound and objective professional manner, and understand:
- (a) the provisions of these Regulations, the Commission’s Monitoring and Reporting Regulation, the Commission’s Verification and Accreditation Regulation and the Directive, as well as relevant standards and guidance adopted by the Commission pursuant to Article 14(1);
- (b) the legislative, regulatory and administrative requirements relevant to the activities being verified; and
- (c) the generation of all information related to each source of emissions in the installation, in particular, relating to the collection, measurement, calculation and reporting of data.
SCHEDULE 6 Categories of Activities in First and Second Trading Periods
The threshold values given in this Schedule generally refer to production capacities or outputs. Where one operator carries out several activities falling under the same subheading in the same installation or on the same site, the capacities of such activities are added together.
Installations or parts of installations used exclusively for research, development and testing of new products and processes are not covered by these Regulations.
| Activities | Activities | Greenhouse gases |
| E1.1 E1.2 E1.3 | Energy activities Combustion installations with a rated thermal input exceeding 20 MW (except hazardous or municipal waste installations) Mineral oil refineries Coke ovens | Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide |
| E2.1 E2.2 | Production and processing of ferrous metals Metal ore (including sulphide ore) roasting or sintering installations Installations for the production of pig iron or steel (primary or secondary fusion) including continuous casting, with a capacity exceeding 2.5 tonnes per hour | Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide |
| E3.1 E3.2 E3.3 | Mineral industry Installations for the production of cement clinker in rotary kilns with a production capacity exceeding 500 tonnes per day or lime in rotary kilns with a production capacity exceeding 50 tonnes per day or in other furnaces with a production capacity exceeding 50 tonnes per day. Installations for the manufacture of glass including glass fibre with a melting capacity exceeding 20 tonnes per day Installations for the manufacture of ceramic products by firing, in particular roofing tiles, bricks, refractory bricks, tiles, stoneware or porcelain, with a production capacity exceeding 75 tonnes per day, and/or with a kiln capacity exceeding 4 m3 and with a setting density per kiln exceeding 300 kg/m3 | Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide |
| E4.1 | Other activities Industrial plants for the production of (a) pulp from timber or other fibrous materials (b) paper and board with a production capacity exceeding 20 tonnes per day | Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide |
GIVEN under my Official Seal,
29 November 2012.
PHIL HOGAN,
Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)
These Regulations provide for the transposition of Directive 2009/29/EC, the purpose of which is to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Community.
The 2009 Directive aims to improve and extend the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and to provide for a more efficient, more harmonised and fairer system. These changes involve substantial amendments to the original emissions trading Directive 2003/87/EC. Increased efficiency will be achieved by means of a longer trading period, a robust and annually declining emissions cap, and a substantial increase in the amount of auctioning. Greater harmonisation has been agreed in many areas, including with respect to the cap-setting and the rules for transitional free allocation. The fairness of the system has been substantially increased by the move towards EU-wide free allocation rules for industrial installations and by the introduction of a redistribution mechanism that entitles new Member States to auction more allowances. These regulations complete the transposition process.
Transposing the 2009 Directive presented an opportunity to consolidate the national Regulations which have been made to date on matters related to the EU ETS, with the exception of Regulations related to the inclusion of emissions from aviation. Accordingly, these Regulations incorporate full transposition of Directive 2003/87/EC, as amended by Directive 2004/101/EC of 27 October 2004, Directive 2008/101/EC of 19 November 2008, Regulation (EC) No 219/2009 of 11 March 2009, and Directive 2009/29/EC of 23 April 2009. As a consequence of this consolidation, the following Regulations are revoked:
— the European Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 437 of 2004 ),
— the European Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 ( S.I. No. 706 of 2005 ),
— the Kyoto Protocol Flexible Mechanisms Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 244 of 2006 ),
— the European Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 ( S.I. No. 161 of 2010 ), and
— the European Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 ( S.I. No. 127 of 2011 ).
Footnotes
O.J. No. L 275 25.10.2003 p. 32
O.J. No. L 338 13.11.2004 p. 18
O.J. No. L 8 13.1.2009 p. 3
O.J. No. L 140 5.6.2009 p. 63
O.J. No. L 302 18.11.2010 p. 1
O.J. No. L 130 17.5.2011 p. 1
O.J. No. L 149 12.6.2009 p. 69
O.J. No. L 229 31.8.2007 p. 1
O.J. No. L 24 28.1.2009 p. 18
O.J. No. L 103 23.4.2009 p. 10
O.J. No. L 155 22.6.2010 p. 34
O.J. No. L 181 12.7.2012 p. 30
O.J. No. L 149 8.6.2011 p. 1
O.J. No. L 181 12.7.2012 p. 1
O.J. No. L 257 10.10.1996 p. 26
O.J. No. L 87 31.3.2009 p. 109
O.J. No. L 140 5.6.2009 p. 114
O.J. No. L 240 24.8.1992 p. 8
O.J. No. L 130 15.5.2002 p. 1
O.J. No. L 167 9.7.1993 p. 31
O.J. No. L 117 5.5.1999 p. 35
O.J. No. L 114 24.4.2001 p. 1
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