UK opens consultation on 2nd stage of transposing Aviation EU ETS directive into national regulations

14.12.2009   (GreenAir online)

The UK’s Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has opened a 12-week
public consultation seeking views on the second set of draft UK regulations to
transpose the EU directive on the inclusion of aviation into the EU Emissions
Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The first set came into force on 17 September 2009 in
order to transpose the key parts of the Aviation Directive that enabled the UK
Government with the necessary legal powers to determine aircraft operators’ emissions
plans and applications for a free allocation before the first reporting year starting
1 January 2010. These new regulations will ultimately repeal in part and replace
the first stage regulations and provide for a full transposition of the Directive.

The issues covered by this consultation, which runs from 11 December 2009 until
5 March 2010, include:

·                 Special reserve

·                 Emissions plan conditions and variation

·                 Duty and failure to surrender allowances equal to emissions

·                 Over-allocation

·                 Charging of fees

·                 Civil penalties

·                 Detention and sale of aircraft

·                 Assistance from aerodrome operators (including penalties for non-compliance)

·                 Application for an operating ban and enforcing an operating ban

In a section of the consultation document titled ‘Other areas of interest to
consultees’, DECC notes that Article 3d (4) of the Aviation Directive affords
a discretion to Member States, which provides that they may allocate revenue generated
from auctioning allowances to tackle climate change. However, responds DECC, "the UK Government does not earmark revenue from auctioning for
specific projects. Auctioning revenues are fed into the Government’s consolidated
fund." No comments to this are requested by the document.

The same section also notes that the EU directive does not provide for a closures
policy, whereby operators would cease to receive a free allocation of allowances
each year if they stopped operations or fell outside of the scope of the EU ETS.
The UK Government believes that an EU-wide closures policy is required for the
aviation sector of the EU ETS since an airline that has ceased operating or later
falls outside the scheme no longer needs an allocation of free allowances. Under
the current rules, an airline that ceased flying in 2012 would continue to receive
a free allocation each year up to 2020.

Says the document: "Over the coming months, we will be working with the European
Commission and other Member States to agree an EU-wide closures policy. We will
seek all suitable opportunities to provide for a closures policy through amending
the Aviation EU ETS Directive, or through other European legislation, including
withholding free allowances in years following an airline operator ceasing its
activities. Our aim is to put in place an EU-wide closures policy before aviation
joins the EU ETS at the start of 2012. Initial discussions with the European Commission
and other Member States suggest that they are also looking for a solution to this
issue."

Meanwhile, the European Commission’s Aviation EU ETS MRV web page requests aircraft
operators should note that all references to Member States on templates should
be interpreted as including all 30 EEA States. The EEA comprises the 27 EU Member
States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

 

Links:

DECC – Second consultation on EU ETS Aviation Directive

European Commission – Monitoring, reporting and verification for aviation

Copyright © 2009 GreenAir Communications

 

http://www.greenaironline.com/news.php?viewStory=698