On 14 July 2021, the European Commission (the Commission) published its proposed regulation which would establish a carbon border adjustment mechanism (EU CBAM) (the Regulation), and is intended to come into effect, subject to transitional provisions, from 1 January 2023. The Regulation would require importers of certain goods to purchase a number of electronic certificates, … Read more

The EU has revealed its ‘fit for 55’ suite of policies, which extends to about 2,000 pages and is designed to take a pro-active approach to combating climate change and to introduce a suite of proposals aimed at making Europe ‘the first climate neutral continent in the world’. Fit for 30: striking a balance The … Read more

The end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020 brought an end to the UK’s participation in the EU Emissions Trading System (the EU ETS), the bloc’s flagship ‘cap and trade’ scheme for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Having substituted this scheme for a near-identical UK alternative, there is now the possibility of … Read more

The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (“TCA“) establishes objectives for the energy market by providing for the facilitation of trade and investment between the EU and the UK (the “parties”) in the areas of energy and raw materials, and supporting security of supply and environmental sustainability, notably in contributing to the fight against climate change … Read more

The European Commission (the “Commission”) has announced its intention to increase the current EU target to reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions by 2030. On 15 September 2020, in the first State of the Union annual address by President Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission proposed ‘to increase the 2030 target for emission reduction to at … Read more

After Brexit, the UK Government intends to establish a UK Emissions Trading System ("UK ETS") as a key part of the plan to achieve the net zero target. Background At present, the UK participates in the EU Emissions Trading System ("EU ETS"). This is a cap and trade system which is designed to incentivise individual installations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions year on year, by setting ever reducing caps on the emissions which each installation is permitted to emit in a given year. Each installation is required to surrender allowances in respect of its measured emissions in the relevant year. Historically many allowances were given to installations for free, but increasingly such allowances must be purchased. Installations which reduce their emissions below the cap will have excess allowances which they are able to sell, providing a further incentive to reduce emissions. The EU ETS is seen as a key part of EU legislation driving reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, industry and flights within the EU. Read more