Extending regulatory safeguards of the MAD Directive to the spot markets in electricity and emission allowances – will this change so much?
- Category: Emissions trading
Recently announced „Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy market integrity and transparency {SEC(2010) 1510} {SEC(2010) 1511}” subjects wholesale energy products traded on the spot market to the safeguards currently present mainly on the financial market. The issue obviously regards inter alia the prohibitions on insider dealing and market manipulation.
The eligibility to apply for admission to bid in the auction pursuant to the Auctioning Regulation
- Category: Auctions of CO2 allowances
Is there a risk that hypothetical power and fuel suppliers from one Member State will be entitled to bid directly in the auction and the same from another Member State won’t?
CCR (Carbon Capture Readiness) – the economic feasibility to retrofit for CO2 capture
- Category: CCS
Everyone knows that CCS is not economic yet. So, what’s the matter with the requirement contained in the Directive that the new combustion plants assessed economic feasibility to retrofit for CO2 capture?
SO2 and NOx trading – the new interesting instance of the national scheme
- Category: Emissions trading
The draft of the Law on the system of balancing and settlement of sulphur dioxides’ (SO2) and nitrous oxides (NOx) emissions from a large combustion plants scheduled to enter into force as from 1 January 2011 introduces in Poland a trading scheme that can be classified as cap-and-trade system rather than baseline-and-credit.
Article 11a(9) of the Directive 2003/87/EC – a headache for compliance buyers
- Category: Emissions trading
Article 11a(9) of the Directive 2003/87/EC is these days “hot topic” among emission traders and compliance buyers of CERs.
The issue is really worth considering - the very wording of the said provision sounds mysterious, may potentially be capacious and constitute a legal basis for many interesting structures. But nobody likes to be surprised – especially when big money is at stake.
Calculation of interest under the Auctioning Regulation – one day missing?
- Category: Auctions of CO2 allowances
The Article 45(3)(a) of the draft of the Commission Regulation on the timing, administration and other aspects of auctioning of greenhouse gas emission allowances pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and the Council establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowances trading within the Community (Auctioning Regulation) provides for different method for calculating interest for defaulted payments than commonly accepted contractual standards.
Article 10c(2) of the Directive 2003/87/EC - burdened with internal contradiction?
- Category: Implementation
As a consequence of the Article 10c(2) of the Directive 2003/87/EC, the funds from auctioning meant for “greening” the economy and gathered at a State level, in these Member States that qualify for and make use of the derogation provided for in the Article 10c (for instance, highly dependent on coal) will be much smaller, than in countries, that already are “green”.
This is a paradox as regards the framework created by the said Directive.
Allocations to district heating and high efficiency cogeneration and tariffs - regulatory problems
- Category: Implementation
The free allocations of EUAs to district heating and high efficiency cogeneration in the third trading period will be decreased by way of four different legal measures. The Directive 2009/29/EC thus treats CHP more favorable than electricity generators (which, with exception provided for in Article 10c, receive no free allocation at all) but place them in the much less advantageous position than sectors exposed to “carbon leakage”.
Taking into account that CHP and district heating and cooling in some Member States are obliged to apply prices included in regulated tariffs, it seems natural that national regulators, when approving the said tariffs, should take into consideration the costs of the acquisition of CO2 credits. The detailed extent of the inclusion of these costs into the tariff is yet contentious and, as regards the particulars of the evaluation of that cost, there are many details to be explored.
The regulatory uncertainty in that regard may negatively influence on any investment plans.
Daily Futures Contracts listed on ECX – assessment under MIFID and Regulation No 1287/2006
- Category: Emissions trading
EUA’s and CER’s Daily Futures Contracts traded on ECX are physically deliverable within two trading days - are they spot contracts or financial instruments triggering regulatory framework of MIFID?
The admissibility of changing individual allocations – enforceability and closure rules
- Category: Implementation
To put it briefly - in that regard the diversity isn’t desirable.
EUA/CER spread tendency and the legal framework for CER’s after 2012
- Category: Emissions trading
Despite an extensive variety of provisions relating to the status of CER units in the post-2012 legal framework of the Directive 2009/29/EC (aiming generally at securing stability of the long-term green investments), at least one of these provisions should be of particular concern to the CER buyers and investors.
Recent differentiation in VAT treatment of emissions transactions and the IETA master agreement
- Category: IETA Agreements - Commentary
Taking into account that ETMA’s last version (3.0) was designed in 2008, the question may arise whether the text of the master agreement shows the required elasticity, to cover the multiplicity of approaches taken recently in the matter of VAT taxation of EUAs, CERs and ERUs trading. Let’s remind that they are ranging from exemption from VAT and zero rate, through “reverse charge” to standard rate.