The European Union launched its Emissions Trading System (ETS) on 1 January 2005 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industrial plants and aircraft operators. This created its CO₂ market through Directive 2003/87/EC, which was transposed into Spanish law via Law 1/2005 (the text is only in Spanish).

The answer is likely yes. The EU’s Emissions Trading System covers greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from numerous activities across its 27 member states, including thermal power plants, cogeneration, and other combustion installations with a thermal capacity of over 20 MW (boilers, engines, compressors, etc.).

• Emission permit: This is the licence granted to you as an energy producer, allowing you to emit pollutants.

• Emission right: This gives you the legal right to emit one tonne of CO₂ into the atmosphere. Unlike the permit, emission rights can be bought or sold.

• Emission cap: The total volume of rights in circulation, which measures the ambition of the environmental goal. If the rights are scarce, they gain monetary value.

• Allocation of rights: The mechanism (e.g., auctions, free allocation) through which system participants distribute emission rights.

• Monitoring: Energy producers must track their emissions to determine how many rights must be surrendered.

• Compliance: You are required to surrender an amount of emission rights equivalent to your actual emissions.

• Rights registry: An electronic system that tracks the emission rights in circulation, detailing ownership and rights that have been surrendered.

Axpo Iberia has been active in the emissions trading market since its inception, enabling us to offer a range of services to energy producers, including:

• Advisory: We guide you through the complex world of emissions markets.

• Buying and selling: We handle selling your surplus emission rights and purchasing any rights you need.