The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020

PART 1 U.K. Application for greenhouse gas emissions permits

Greenhouse gas emissions permits: application U.K.

1.—(1) The operator of an installation may apply to the regulator for a greenhouse gas emissions permit for the installation M1 .

(2) But an application may not be made if a permit for the installation is already in force.

(3) In sub-paragraph (2), “permit” includes a permit within the meaning of GGETSR 2012 to which paragraph 1 of Schedule 11 applies (permits to be converted).

Commencement Information

I1 Sch. 6 para. 1 in force at 12.11.2020, see art. 2(1)

Marginal Citations

M1 Paragraphs 24 and 26 of Schedule 7 and paragraph 1 of Schedule 11 provide for the conversion of permits into greenhouse gas emissions permits.

Greenhouse gas emissions permits: content of application U.K.

2.—(1) An application for a greenhouse gas emissions permit must contain—

(a) an address to which correspondence relating to the application should be sent (in addition to the addresses required by paragraph 1(5) of Schedule 3);

(b) if the operator of the installation is a body corporate—

(i) its registered number and the postal address of its registered or principal office; and

(ii) where the operator is a subsidiary of a holding company, the name of the holding company (other than a holding company which is itself a subsidiary) and the postal address of the holding company's registered or principal office,

and in this paragraph “subsidiary” and “holding company” have the meanings given in section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006 M2 ;

(c) in relation to the site of the installation—

(i) the postal address and national grid reference of the site (or in the case of an installation in UK coastal waters or the UK sector of the continental shelf equivalent information identifying the installation and its location);

(ii) a description of the site and the location of the installation on it; and

(iii) the name of any local authority where the site is situated;

(d) a description of the installation, the regulated activities to be carried out at the installation and the specified emissions from those activities;

(e) a description of the raw and auxiliary materials used in carrying out regulated activities at the installation, the use of which is likely to lead to specified emissions;

(f) a description of the sources of specified emissions from the regulated activities carried out at the installation;

(g) a monitoring plan in accordance with Article 12 of the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation 2018, together with—

(i) the supporting documents referred to in Article 12(1) of that Regulation;

(ii) except where the installation is an installation with low emissions within the meaning of Article 47(2) of that Regulation, the uncertainty assessment carried out under Article 28(1)(a) of that Regulation;

(h) a description, including the reference number, of any environmental licence issued in relation to the installation;

(i) any additional information that the operator wishes the regulator to take into account in considering the application;

(j) a non-technical summary of the information referred to in paragraphs (d) to (i); and

(k) the date on which the operator wishes the permit to come into force.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1)(h), “environmental licence” means—

(a) an authorisation under—

(i) Part 1 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 M3 ;

(ii) the Industrial Pollution Control (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 M4 ;

(b) a permit under—

(i) the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012 M5 ;

(ii) the Offshore Combustion Installations (Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2013 M6 ;

(iii) the Pollution Prevention and Control (Industrial Emissions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 M7 ;

(iv) the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 M8 ;

(v) the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 M9 .

Commencement Information

I2 Sch. 6 para. 2 in force at 12.11.2020, see art. 2(1)

Marginal Citations

M2 2006 c. 46. In section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006, “company” includes any body corporate.

M3 1990 c. 43.

M4 S.I. 1997/2777 (N.I. 18).

M5 S.S.I. 2012/360.

M6 S.I. 2013/971.

M7 S.R. 2013/160.

M8 S.I. 2016/1154.

M9 S.S.I. 2018/219.

[F1 Greenhouse gas emissions permits: issue of permit U.K.

3.   A greenhouse gas emissions permit for an installation may be issued only if—

(a) a monitoring plan has been approved in relation to the installation under the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation 2018; and

(b) the regulator considers that from the date on which the permit comes into force the operator of the installation will be capable of monitoring and reporting the installation’s reportable emissions in accordance with the monitoring and reporting conditions of the permit.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 6 para. 3 substituted (7.2.2022) by The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2021 (S.I. 2021/1455), arts. 2, 24(2)

Greenhouse gas emissions permits: content of permit U.K.

4.—(1) A greenhouse gas emissions permit must contain—

(a) the name and postal address in the United Kingdom (including postcode) of the operator and any other address for correspondence included by the operator in the application;

(b) the postal address and national grid reference of the installation (or, in the case of an installation in UK coastal waters or the UK sector of the continental shelf, equivalent information identifying the installation and its location);

(c) a description of the installation, the regulated activities to be carried out at the installation and the specified emissions from those activities;

(d) a description of the site and the location of the installation on the site;

(e) the date on which the permit comes into force;

(f) the monitoring plan—

(i) where an application is made for the permit, approved in relation to the installation under F2 ...the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation 2018;

(ii) where an existing permit is converted into a greenhouse gas emissions permit, approved in relation to the installation under F2 ...the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation 2012 or F2 ... the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation 2018 for the purpose of monitoring specified emissions at the installation immediately before the greenhouse gas emissions permit comes into force;

(g) the monitoring and reporting conditions (see sub-paragraph (2));

(h) the surrender condition (see sub-paragraphs (3) to (5));

[F3 (ha) the free allocation conditions (see sub-paragraph (6));

(hb) where a monitoring methodology plan has been approved in relation to the installation under Article 8 of the Free Allocation Regulation, the monitoring methodology plan;]

(i) any conditions that the regulator considers necessary to ensure that the operator notifies the regulator of any planned or effective changes to the capacity, activity level or operation of the installation, on or before 31st December in the year in which the change is planned or occurs;

(j) any other conditions that the regulator considers appropriate to include in the permit.

(2) The monitoring and reporting conditions are—

(a) a condition requiring the operator to monitor the installation's reportable emissions in accordance with—

(i) the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation 2018; and

(ii) the monitoring plan (including the written procedures supplementing the monitoring plan);

(b) a condition requiring the operator to prepare in accordance with the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation 2018 a report of the installation's reportable emissions in each scheme year that is verified [F4 as satisfactory] in accordance with the Verification Regulation 2018 and to submit the report [F5 (and the verification report)] to the regulator on or before 31st March in the following year;

F6 (c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(d) any further conditions that the regulator considers necessary to give proper effect to the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation 2018 or the Verification Regulation 2018.

(3) The surrender condition is a condition requiring the operator to surrender allowances equal to the installation's reportable emissions in a scheme year on or before 30th April in the following year.

(4) For the purposes of the surrender condition, where an installation's reportable emissions in a scheme year (the “non-compliance year”) exceeds the allowances surrendered on or before 30th April in the following year, the installation's reportable emissions in the relevant scheme year must be treated as being increased by the difference.

(5) In sub-paragraph (4), the relevant scheme year means—

(a) the scheme year following the non-compliance year; or

(b) if the failure to comply with the surrender condition results from an error in the verified emissions report submitted by the operator, the scheme year in which the error is discovered.

[F7 (6) The free allocation conditions are the following conditions, which must be expressed to apply while the installation is an FA installation—

(a) a condition requiring the operator to monitor the activity level of the installation in accordance with—

(i) the Free Allocation Regulation; and

(ii) the monitoring methodology plan approved under Article 8 of the Free Allocation Regulation (including the written documentation of the procedures referred to in Article 8(3) of that Regulation);

[F8 (b) a condition requiring the operator, in accordance with the Activity Level Changes Regulation, to prepare an activity level report that is verified as satisfactory in accordance with the Verification Regulation 2018 and to submit the report (and the verification report) to the regulator—

(i) on or before 31st March in each scheme year; or

(ii) in the case of an installation in relation to which the Activity Level Changes Regulation has effect with the modifications referred to in paragraph 5 of Schedule 8A—

(aa) on or before 31st March in the first eligible scheme year (within the meaning of that Schedule) or, if later, within 3 months after the date on which the final annual number of allowances to be allocated in respect of the installation is approved under paragraph 4(6) of that Schedule;

(bb) on or before 31st March in each subsequent scheme year;]

(c) a condition requiring the operator, if the installation has ceased operation, to notify the regulator on or before 31st December in the scheme year in which the cessation occurs or within 1 month of the cessation, whichever is later;

(d) any further conditions that the regulator considers necessary to give proper effect to the Free Allocation Regulation or the Activity Level Changes Regulation.

(7) Where, after the date of issue of, or conversion of a permit into, a greenhouse gas emissions permit, a monitoring methodology plan is approved in relation to an installation under Article 8 of the Free Allocation Regulation, the regulator must vary the permit under paragraph 6 so that it contains the monitoring methodology plan.]

Textual Amendments

F2 Words in Sch. 6 para. 4(1)(f) omitted (7.2.2022) by virtue of The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2021 (S.I. 2021/1455), arts. 2, 24(3)(a)

F3 Sch. 6 para. 4(1)(ha)(hb) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2020 (S.I. 2020/1557), arts. 2(1), 38(2)(a)

F4 Words in Sch. 6 para. 4(2)(b) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2020 (S.I. 2020/1557), arts. 2(1), 38(2)(b)(i)

F5 Words in Sch. 6 para. 4(2)(b) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2020 (S.I. 2020/1557), arts. 2(1), 38(2)(b)(ii)

F6 Sch. 6 para. 4(2)(c) omitted (1.1.2023) by virtue of The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2022 (S.I. 2022/1173), arts. 2, 16(2)

F7 Sch. 6 para. 4(6)(7) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2020 (S.I. 2020/1557), arts. 2(1), 38(2)(c)

F8 Sch. 6 para. 4(6)(b) substituted (7.2.2022) by The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2021 (S.I. 2021/1455), arts. 2, 24(3)(b)

Commencement Information

I3 Sch. 6 para. 4 in force at 12.11.2020, see art. 2(1)

Greenhouse gas emissions permits: effect of permit, etc. U.K.

5.—(1) A greenhouse gas emissions permit for an installation—

(a) comes into force on the date set out in the permit;

(b) authorises the regulated activities set out in the permit to be carried out at the installation.

(2) The operator of the installation must comply with the conditions of the permit.

Commencement Information

I4 Sch. 6 para. 5 in force at 12.11.2020, see art. 2(1)