The EU ETS: slightly ahead of its time

[BitWhys]

Although not treated by many as a pancea, the European Union has brought emmisions trading into force. This is worth being aware of since:
1) It breaks ground in creating a working model that can be used as a reference in crafting the second stage of the Kyoto Protocol our current government is opting to at the very least ignore and...
2) It demonstrates that programs such as Kyoto place the onus to control emmisions at the company level and reminds those intersted that net gains in carbon market or not some sort of beer and popcorn handout and are only realized by earning credits based on performance.
3) It gives a better sense of whether and by what degree our current governments actions are in step with the world.

If our current government has such faith in its mysterious "made-in-Canada" solution Kyoto should not even be an issue. Among other realities, continued participation in Kyoto is a useful means by which our federal government has the power to shape the way competition is realized in the marketplace. Walking away from Kyoto only serves to let Big Business off the hook.

Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS)

In January 2005 the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) commenced operation as the largest multi-country, multi-sector Greenhouse Gas emission trading scheme world-wide.

The scheme is based on Directive 2003/87/EC, which entered into force on 25 October 2003.

Allowances traded in the EU ETS will not be printed but held in accounts in electronic registries set up by Member States. All of these registries will be overseen by a Central Administrator at EU level who, through the Community independent transaction log, will check each transaction for any irregularities. In this way, the registries system keep track of the ownership of allowances in the same way as a banking system keeps track of the ownership of money.

The Commission provides guidance on the application of VAT (pdf ~13K) to emission allowances.

The European Commission's DG Environment has commissioned McKinsey & Company and Ecofys to monitor and review the EU emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) during 2005 and 2006. The purpose of the review is to provide a fact base in order
1 to analyse the functioning and design of the system with respect to a number of specific issues,
2 to evaluate the impact of expanding the EU ETS to other sectors and gases, and
3 to understand the actual impact of the EU ETS on competitiveness.

In order to collect the views of stakeholders on a range of aspects of the EU emissions trading scheme, a web survey was carried out from June to September 2005. A report with the full results is in preparation and will be released in due time. Here are already some highlights (pdf ~2,7Mb).

EU action against climate change: EU emissions trading - an open scheme promoting global innovation. (Brochure) (pdf ~4,5Mb)

 

[I think not]

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