Guidance

UK Emissions Trading Scheme for installations: how to comply

Updated 9 February 2026

This guidance will help installation operators understand and comply with their obligations under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) which came into force on 1 January 2021. These obligations are set out in The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020 (the Order)

This guidance applies to installations in the UK ETS with greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) permits. There is separate guidance for hospital and small emitters (HSEs).

Understand whether the UK ETS applies to you

The UK ETS applies to regulated activities carried out at installations.

Regulated activities are listed in schedule 2 to the Order. See the full details about installations, regulated activities and greenhouse gases.

Operators of installations who carry out regulated activities must have either a GHGE permit or an HSE permit. You must apply for a permit before you begin your regulated activities.

Installations with ultra-small emitter (USE) status for the 2021 to 2025 and 2026 to 2030 period do not need a permit. Note that the application window for these periods is closed. For more information see UK ETS ultra small emitters baseline data collection guidance, 1 April – 30 June 2025

If you do not comply with the UK ETS requirements, your regulator may take enforcement action which could result in a civil penalty.

Contact your regulator if you are still not sure if the UK ETS applies to you.

Regulators and their contact details

There are 5 regulators for installations regulated under the UK ETS. Your regulator is defined in article 10 of the Order. You are assigned a regulator based on your geographical location including controlled waters (if relevant) and the adjacent territorial sea, unless the installation is used for certain purposes as detailed in article 10.

Contact details for regulators of installations regulated under the UK ETS

Nation Regulator and webpage (if relevant) Email
England Environment Agency For all permitting and compliance enquiries: ethelp@environment-agency.gov.uk

For Baseline Data Collection, USE, HSE and FA application enquiries only: ETSDataCollection@environment-agency.gov.uk
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Carbon emissions trading
emissions.trading@daera-ni.gov.uk
Scotland Scottish Environment Protection Agency
UK Emissions Trading Scheme
emission.trading@sepa.org.uk
Wales Natural Resources Wales
UK Emissions Trading Scheme
GHGHelp@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk

For correspondence in Welsh: GHGHelp@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk
UK Continental Shelf Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) on behalf of the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero OPRED@energysecurity.gov.uk

The UK government and the devolved administrations collectively form the UK ETS authority which has been set up to oversee the UK ETS.

You can contact the UK ETS authority about the operation of the UK ETS, legislation and overarching policy queries by email:

Your METS online account

Your regulator manages all applications, variations, notifications and report submissions through Manage your UK Emissions Trading Scheme reporting service (METS).

If you are an operator of a new UK ETS installation, you should create an account in METS and then register your installation through your portal.

METS is an online application and reporting system that allows you to:

  • apply for a new permit
  • send and receive notifications to or from your regulator
  • submit your annual emissions report, verification report and, if required, annual activity level report (ALR)
  • make applications to vary (change) your permit

  • receive reminders of actions you must or may need to take 

The forms in METS help operators provide the information required under the Order. They include guidance on how to complete specific fields within the forms. The forms also provide references to additional guidance documents or legislation where available.

At least one of your METS account users should have the user type ‘operator admin’. This person will be able to:

  • manage the account
  • add, enable and disable users
  • update the authorisation level of users

If you have lost access to your authenticator app or the 6-figure code is not working, use the ‘I have lost access to my authenticator app’ option on the METS login page and follow the instructions.

Submitting applications to your regulator

The following applies to any application, report or notification you submit to your regulator.

All submissions must be submitted through METS, unless your regulator agrees otherwise.

Applications you submit to your regulator must satisfy the requirements of the Order by:

  • providing all the information required by the Order
  • paying any fee required

You can find the fees for your regulator on their website:

Your regulator must determine an application within 2 months of the date it was made, unless they agree a longer period with you.

Once you submit your application, the application fee and ways to pay will be shown in METS, or you can contact your regulator.

Your regulator will assess your application and contact you if they need more information.

Apply for a GHGE permit

You must apply for a new GHGE permit using METS at least 2 months before commencing your regulated activity. Read the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation (MRR) before applying.

If you are eligible for a free allocation of allowances as a new entrant, read the section on New Entrant Reserve (NER) applications.

Once your regulator has reviewed and approved your application, they will issue your GHGE permit.

Your permit will include conditions that require you to:

  • monitor your reportable emissions
  • report your verified reportable emissions
  • surrender allowances equal to your reportable emissions
  • notify your regulator of various changes

The section Complying with your emissions-related permit conditions explains the tasks you must carry out and the deadlines you must meet.

If your installation receives a free allocation, you are an ‘FA installation’ and the free allocation conditions of your permit also apply. This means you must also monitor and report your activity levels.

The section Complying with your activity levels permit conditions explains the tasks you must carry out and the deadlines you must meet. Your permit uses the term ‘FA installation’ but, for clarity, this guidance refers to a ‘free allocation installation’.

Non-compliance and enforcement

It is important that you read, understand and comply with all the conditions in your permit. The introductory note and conditions will help you comply with UK ETS requirements.

If you do not comply with UK ETS requirements, your regulator may take enforcement action which could result in a civil penalty. For more information on civil penalties see:

If you are not sure about your obligations, or any aspect of this guidance, please contact your regulator.

Opening your operator holding account in the UK registry

The UK ETS Registry is where UK ETS allowances are allocated, traded and surrendered. All these transactions are recorded in the UK ETS Registry.

The UK ETS authority is the central administrator of the UK ETS Registry. Day-to-day administration is carried out by the registry administrator; a role currently performed by the Environment Agency.

The UK ETS authority is a joint body comprising:

  • the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
  • HM Treasury
  • Department for Transport
  • the Scottish Government
  • the Welsh Government
  • the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland

Together they oversee the UK ETS.

Once your regulator has issued your GHGE permit, they will instruct the registry administrator to open your operator holding account (OHA) in the UK ETS Registry.

Once your OHA is open, the registry administrator will send you an email with your account details and help you appoint a primary contact and at least one authorised representative.

The charge for your GHGE permit application includes the costs of appointing one authorised representative with a permission to surrender allowances or return any over-allocated free allowances. You can apply to the registry administrator to expand the permission of your initial authorised representative or appoint additional authorised representatives. This would be subject to a fee.

To find out more, see the UK Emissions Trading Registry website.

Other types of UK registry accounts

Legal persons and individuals can apply to have a trading account. This is only used to hold and trade in allowances. You cannot perform your UK ETS compliance obligations using this account.

Information made public

Certain information in the UK registry is made available to the public and varies under the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol and the Order.

The type of information that will be made public is:

  • information about open accounts and their account holders
  • detailed information about accounts, their holdings and transaction information – including the names of account holders involved in transactions that are more than 3 years old

The following information is not made public:

  • information about authorised representatives and primary contacts
  • detailed information about accounts, their holdings and transaction information – including the names of account holders involved in transactions that are less than 3 years old

To comply with the emissions related conditions in your permit, you must complete the tasks in the UK ETS annual cycle by the specified deadlines. If you do not, your regulator may take enforcement action which could result in a civil penalty.

A scheme year is a calendar year.

  • 1 January – start monitoring your emissions
  • 31 March – submit your annual emissions report and verification report for the previous scheme year using METS
  • 30 April – surrender allowances that are equal to your reportable emissions in the previous scheme year in the UK ETS Registry
  • 30 June – submit improvement reports (if applicable) using METS
  • July – appoint an appropriate accredited verifier, if you have not already done so
  • 30 September – submit an application for a site visit waiver, if required
  • December – consider starting to prepare your annual emissions report
  • 31 December – notify your regulator of any non-significant changes to your monitoring plan using METS
  • 31 December – complete your emissions monitoring for that scheme year

Monitor your emissions

You must monitor your reportable emissions from 1 January to 31 December in each scheme year.

You must monitor in accordance with:

  • your approved monitoring plan (including any written procedures supplementing that plan)
  • the requirements of the MRR

You use the emissions data collected during your monitoring to produce your annual emissions report.

Prepare your emissions report

You must prepare a report that covers the reportable emissions in the previous scheme year. The report must be in accordance with the MRR.

The report must also be verified as satisfactory, following the requirements of the Verification Regulation.

The regulators recommend that you start to prepare for the reporting process and verification during the final quarter of the scheme year.

You must submit your report by 31 March the following year.

Preparing early should give you enough time to:

  • appoint a suitably accredited verifier (see the section Appointing an independent verifier
  • allow your verifier to perform the verification in a timely way
  • correct any errors or misstatements
  • submit your report and verification report to your regulator

The task to compile your annual emissions report will appear in your METS account on 1 January the following year. This task contains the emissions monitoring report form.

Simplified monitoring and reporting for low emitters

If your annual CO2 emissions (excluding any CO2 emissions from biomass and subtraction of transferred CO2) are less than 25,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, you may apply the simplifications set out in article 47 of the MRR.

You must:

  • provide evidence to your verifier that you are complying with the applicable tiers (article 19 of the Verification Regulation)
  • have and maintain procedures to reduce the risk of errors in your reports (article 59 of the MRR)

You may:

  • use purchasing records and estimated stock changes to determine activity data (amount of fuel or material)
  • apply tier 1 as a minimum to determine activity data and calculation factors for all source streams, and to determine emissions by measurement-based methodologies (unless you can monitor more accurately without additional effort)
  • use a technically competent laboratory that is not accredited to EN ISO/IEC 17025 to determine calculation factors by analysis, if you provide evidence of its quality assurance measures

You are exempt from:

  • submitting an uncertainty assessment to your regulator when you apply for a monitoring plan (article 12(1) of the MRR)
  • including uncertainty related to stock changes in an uncertainty assessment (article 28(2) of the MRR)
  • submitting the outcome of a risk assessment to your regulator when you apply for a monitoring plan (article 12(1) of the MRR) – you must still have and maintain procedures to reduce the risk of errors in your reports (article 59 of the MRR)
  • demonstrating that it would lead to unreasonable costs or it is not technically feasible to apply a higher tier than tier 1

Reporting the use of biomass

Where you are reporting an emission factor of zero for using bioliquids to generate energy or heat, you must satisfy your regulator and your verifier that you have met the sustainability criteria set out in article 17(2) to (5) of Directive 2009/28/EC in the Renewable Energy Directive.

For more detail on using biomass in the UK ETS for installations, see the Monitoring and reporting biomass guidance.

Using default values for calculation factors

You may use default values (also known as national factors) for calculation factors if your approved monitoring plan allows you to apply tiers 2a or lower (article 31(1)(b) and (c) of the MRR).

You must use the factors published for UK ETS for the relevant year to make sure you are using the right data. You must use the same factor for the whole scheme year.

The Monitoring and reporting: country specific factor list guidance has a table of UK national factors for:

  • net calorific values (NCVs)
  • emission factors (EFs)
  • preliminary emission factors (pEFs)
  • conversion factors (CFs)
  • oxidation factors (OFs)

METS should be pre-populated with the latest national factors extracted from the national greenhouse gas inventory (national inventory) or supplied by the natural gas network operators. However, you and your verifier must check that the data in METS correctly represents the data for the relevant scheme year.

If you are using your own data or transcribing from the UK national factor table on GOV.UK, you must make sure you report the data to standard conditions, as defined in the MRR.

For example, NCVs for some fuels are reported in units of MJ/m3, others in GJ/m3. In this example, the values must first be converted to GJ/m3, for consistency with the MRR reporting requirements.

You must report your gas consumption to 0°C and 101.325 kPa to comply with the MRR. National inventory data contained in METS reports NCV and emission factors at typical metering conditions (15°C and 101.325 kPa).

When entering data for natural gas

If you use the national inventory data pre-populated in METS (or if you are using invoices and these are the metering conditions stated by your supplier), select the 15°C option and a factor of 0.9476 will automatically be applied to the volume and the NCV.

You are responsible for checking that the resulting figure is correct. If you have already converted to the metered gas consumption and NCV to 0°C and 101.325 kPa, then tick the 0°C option. No corrections are applied, although the NCV figure is converted down to 0°C.

If you do not use the lookup function in METS you must make sure that you have used the appropriate number of significant figures, as described in the next section on rounding data.

Rounding data for emissions reporting

Do not round data that you will use to calculate your final reportable emissions too soon. Report all variables to an appropriate level of significance. You must report total annual emissions as values rounded to a whole number.

You can find information on rounding reportable emissions in article 72 of the MRR.

The number of significant figures for the values you report should be appropriate to their magnitude. The regulators do not specify what a significant figure is because the size of a number when multiplied (or divided) by another can dictate how many decimal points are significant.

If you use the UK country specific factors you should use all the figures presented. Be aware that column formatting in Excel may mean that not all decimal places are shown. To avoid using the wrong figure, regulators recommend that you use the ‘copy-paste special-value’ function.

You and your verifier should check that the number of significant figures is appropriate. Regulators consider the ‘appropriate’ number is when the overall reported CO2 emissions figure is no longer affected by including (or omitting) more decimal places in the data used to calculate the figure.

Record keeping and audits

Regulators carry out periodic audits of annual emissions reports. You must keep records of all relevant data and information for at least 10 years. In practice, this is 10 years from the date you submitted your report. You will also need to keep the data you used to prepare the report, even though it may be more than 10 years old.

Appointing an independent verifier

You must appoint an independent verifier to verify your emissions and if applicable, your activity levels (for free allocation installations). Your chosen verifier must be accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to ISO 14065 and the Verification Regulation. The scope of their accreditation must cover the regulated activity you are reporting.

You must provide your verifier with all the information they need to perform the verification. Your verifier will be able to explain what they need, but you can also find a list of the minimum information required in article 10 of the Verification Regulation.

When verifying your annual emissions report, and if applicable, your ALR, your verifier will assess your:

  • monitoring methods
  • information, data and calculations
  • procedures

Your verifier checks your emissions report and ALR (if relevant) to make sure that the data in your report (or reports) accurately represents the emissions and activity levels you are required to monitor. They also check that your monitoring and reporting complies with your approved monitoring plan or monitoring methodology plan (MMP) (or both) and the legislation.

To help make sure you are ready to report by 31 March, regulators recommend that you appoint a verifier by at least July during the scheme year. This means your verifier can start the verification process as soon as possible.

They can start checking the data you will need for compliance from the first 6 to 9 months of the scheme year and arrange a site visit, if required. This avoids a heavy workload in January or February the following year and possible delays in completing the verification process. This is particularly important if you are an operator of a free allocation installation and so need to carry out activity level monitoring and reporting too.

There is a list of UKAS accredited verifiers in METS. After you have appointed a verifier, you can assign them to your METS account under the ‘Users and contacts’ tab. Choose the ‘Appoint a verifier’ option from this page and pick the appropriate verifier from the ‘Select a verification body’ drop-down list. 

Find more information on verification and a list of UKAS accredited verifiers for UK ETS from UKAS validation and verification.

Site visits by your appointed verifier

Site visits are an important part of the annual verification process. Without a site visit to the installation, your verifier may not be able to give a positive verifier opinion statement.

For annual emissions reporting, you must have a site visit if you have not had one for the preceding 2 annual emissions reporting scheme years. For remote or inaccessible locations (such as offshore locations), the maximum interval between visits is 4 years.

For activity level reporting, you must have a site visit if you have not had one for activity level reporting (or for a baseline data report) in the preceding 2 activity level reporting scheme years. For remote or inaccessible locations (such as offshore locations), the maximum interval between visits is 4 years.

A site visit must take place if you have:

  • changed your verifier
  • had a significant modification to your monitoring plan
  • made any significant changes to installations (or sub-installations) which require significant modifications to your MMP

Modifications to default values set out in monitoring plans or MMPs are not considered significant.

Your regulator will only approve a site visit waiver in very exceptional cases. You will need support from your verifier before you can apply to your regulator for a site visit waiver.

Your verifier must consider all the elements listed in article 31(1) of the Verification Regulation and provide written justification for the site visit waiver.

Even if your regulator approves your site visit waiver request, you may still need a site visit if:

  • there are subsequent changes to your accounting process or installation
  • information emerges that affects your verifier’s analysis of the verification risk

Operators of low emitting installations, as defined by article 47(2) of the MRR, are treated as category A installations for the purposes of site visits. Operators of low emitting installations do not need to get approval for site visit waivers from their regulator. However, verifiers must provide the operator with written justification for the site visit waiver and keep a copy in their internal verification documentation.

Requests for virtual site visits based on ‘force majeure’ (serious, extraordinary and unforeseeable circumstances outside the operator’s control) will be considered on a site-by-site basis for all sites, as set out in article 34(a) of the Verification Regulation.

Addressing verifier findings

After assessing your report and supporting data, your verifier will provide their opinion. It will either be ‘verified’, ‘verified with comments’ or ‘not verified’.

To be ‘verified as satisfactory’, the verification opinion must be either verified or verified with comments.

A verified with comments opinion means your verifier has identified one or more of the following:

  • unresolved non-compliances which arise when you do not comply with the legislative requirements (such as the Order, the MRR or the Free Allocation Regulation – FAR) – you will need to vary your permit to address these findings
  • non-conformities which arise when you do not comply with the requirements of your approved monitoring plan, MMP or your permit conditions – non-conformities can lead to non-compliances and misstatements
  • misstatements which arise when there are errors or omissions in or from your report
  • recommendations for improvements which usually relate to improvements to your monitoring and reporting procedures, to help you comply with your obligations and avoid more serious problems

You should address misstatements, non-conformities and non-compliances as soon as possible. If you cannot resolve them before your verifier completes their verification activities, you must tell them why. Your verifier will then assess whether they can provide you with a satisfactory verification opinion.

If your verifier cannot provide you with a satisfactory opinion (verified or verified with comments) your regulator will determine your emissions and may recover their costs.

Submit your annual emissions report

By 31 March, you must submit your verified annual emissions report for the previous scheme year to your regulator using METS. The report must cover the reportable emissions of the installation in the scheme year.

Your independent verifier must also submit their verification report containing their ‘verification opinion statement’ to you using METS by 31 March.

The annual emissions report and the verification report must meet the requirements of the MRR and Verification Regulation.

Follow these steps to submit your annual emissions report (AEM report) to your regulator:

  1. Complete the annual emissions report in METS.

  2. Once you have completed the annual emissions report form, you must select your verifier from the list of verifiers in METS. You must have already set up an agreement with them.

  3. Submit your annual emissions report to your chosen verifier for verification.

  4. The verifier will return the verified report to you in METS.

  5. You must then submit your report to your regulator in METS. If you need to amend your report after it has been verified, you must resubmit it to your verifier before submitting it to your regulator.

Your report has not been formally submitted until you have completed step 5.

If, by 31 March, you do not submit a verified annual emissions report that meets all the requirements of the MRR and the Verification Regulation, your regulator will determine your emissions, as stated in the Order. Your regulator is entitled to recover its costs for doing this work. You may also receive a civil penalty.

Improvement reports

There are 2 types of improvement report. The first relates to tiers and the fall-back methodology and the second to verifier comments.

You will receive a notification in METS if you need to submit an improvement report. However, you are responsible for making sure that you submit improvement reports, as required by your permit conditions.

Improvement report relating to tiers and fall-back methodology

You must submit an improvement report to your regulator using METS if you are:

  • not monitoring your annual emissions to the highest possible accuracy and lowest uncertainty that could apply to your installation for major and minor source streams, as defined by the tier requirements in the MRR
  • applying a fall-back methodology

Your report must justify why you are using lower tier methodologies, or a fall-back approach. You must set out your proposals for improvements aimed at using highest tier methodologies as soon as reasonably practicable.

If you do not propose improvements, you must explain why it is either not technically feasible or why making the necessary improvements would lead to unreasonably high costs.

You must submit your report by the following deadlines, unless your regulator has approved an alternative deadline in writing (as set out in article 69(1) of the MRR).

New operators must submit their first improvement report by 30 June in the year after the one in which their permit was granted. All other operators must submit their first report by 30 June 2021.

After you have submitted your first report, you must submit subsequent reports as follows:

  • category A installation by 30 June every 4 years
  • category B installation by 30 June every 2 years
  • category C installation by 30 June every year

Verification improvement reports

You must submit an improvement report to your regulator using METS by 30 June each year if your verifier:

  • reports non-conformities
  • recommends improvements, unless you are an operator of an installation with low emissions as defined in article 47(2) of the MRR

You are not required to submit a report responding to verifier non-conformities or recommendations if you have, before the 30 June deadline, done both of the following:

  • resolved any non-conformities or recommendations
  • submitted a variation application covering the related modifications

Maintaining your monitoring plan

You must regularly check your monitoring plan to:

  • make sure it reflects the nature and functioning of your installation
  • see if you can improve the monitoring methodology, including the control system (article 14(1) of the MRR)

You must monitor the effectiveness of your control measures, including your risk assessment (article 59(4) of the MRR).

You may need to change your monitoring plan as part of this review, or to account for verifier recommendations.

You must notify your regulator of any changes to your monitoring plan.

Changes to the monitoring plan

You must change your monitoring plan in at least the following circumstances:

  • you have emissions arising from activities that you have not identified in your monitoring plan
  • your data sources have changed because you can now determine emissions more accurately by using new types of measuring instruments, sampling methods or analysis methods
  • you have found that data resulting from the previously applied monitoring methodology is incorrect
  • changing the monitoring plan will make the reported data more accurate – unless this is technically not feasible or incurs unreasonable costs
  • the monitoring plan does not meet the requirements of the MRR, and your regulator asks you to change it
  • you must respond to suggestions included in a verification report to improve your monitoring plan

If you make a significant change, you must apply to vary your permit through METS. If it is not a significant change, you must notify your regulator through the same service.

You can monitor and report using the proposed modified monitoring plan before it is approved by your regulator if either:

  • the proposed change is not significant
  • following your current monitoring plan would lead to incomplete emissions data

If you are concerned that following your current monitoring plan would lead to incomplete emissions data, you must monitor and report using both the current plan and the plan with the proposed modification. You must make sure you document all your emissions monitoring until your regulator has approved the modification to your monitoring plan.

If you are a free allocation installation, and depending on the nature of the change, you may also need to consider whether you need to make any changes to your MMP.

Variations and significant changes

You must apply to vary your permit in the following circumstances:

  • if your proposed change to the monitoring plan is significant under article 15(3) of the MRR
  • to include a data gap methodology, as referred to in article 66(1) of the MRR
  • if the operator’s name is changing, but the company’s registration number (on Companies House) is not changing

You must do this at least 14 days before making the change, or where this is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable.

This section lists changes that are considered significant. However, this list is not exhaustive, and some changes not listed could still be considered significant by your regulator.

Significant changes to the monitoring plan include:

  • changes to the category of the installation which require a change to the monitoring methodology, or they lead to a change of the applicable materiality level, as set out in article 23 of the Verification Regulation
  • changes to whether the installation still meets the criteria for installations with low emissions defined in article 47(2) of the MRR
  • changes to emission sources
  • a change from calculation-based to measurement-based methodologies, or vice versa, or from a fall-back methodology to a tier-based methodology for determining emissions or vice versa
  • a change in the tier level applied
  • introducing new source streams
  • a change in how you categorise source streams, between major, minor, de-minimis or marginal source streams, where this change requires the monitoring methodology to change
  • introducing new methods (or changing existing methods) for sampling, analysis or calibration, and where those changes have a direct impact on the accuracy of emissions data
  • using or adopting a quantification methodology for emissions from leakage at storage sites
  • including a written procedure describing how you will estimate emissions in the event of a data gap

If an installation with low emissions exceeds the threshold in article 47(2) of the MRR, the operator must apply to vary its permit. This is unless the regulator is satisfied that the threshold has not been exceeded more than once in a 5-year period and will not be exceeded again. In that case, the operator may continue to apply the provisions of article 47.

You must submit an application to vary your permit in METS as follows:

  1. Navigate to the ‘Start a new task’ button.
  2. Start a variation.

In your application to vary your permit, you must:

  • describe the proposed change
  • explain whether and how the change affects the information in the monitoring plan

Non-significant changes

You must notify your regulator of any non-significant changes to your monitoring plan by 31 December in the year you made the change.

Non-significant changes include:

  • a change to the default factor for a calculation factor, where the value is to be included in the monitoring plan
  • replacing a meter that does not affect the tier
  • changing the details or description of a procedure that has no effect on the accuracy of data

When notifying your regulator of non-significant changes to your monitoring plan in METS, you must:

  • describe the change
  • set out how it affects information in your monitoring plan (if appropriate)
  • explain how the change is in accordance with the MRR

Other notifications

You must notify your regulator 14 days before any of the following circumstances occur, or where this is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable:

  • you make a temporary change to your monitoring methodology (as specified in article 23 of the MRR)
  • you exceed the thresholds for tiers or discover that your equipment does not conform to requirements, and you need to take corrective action (as specified in article 28(1) of the MRR)
  • where a piece of measurement equipment is out of operation (as specified in article 45(1) of the MRR)
  • where an installation with low emissions exceeds the relevant threshold (as specified in article 47(8) of the MRR)

Allowances

One UK ETS allowance allows you to emit 1 tonne of CO2.

The principle of the UK ETS is that you must:

  • monitor your emissions for each scheme year
  • report your verified reportable emissions by 31 March in the following scheme year
  • surrender allowances equal to your reportable emissions by 30 April in the following scheme year

If you do not comply with these and other obligations in the Order, you may be liable to significant civil penalties.

Allowances are available in 2 ways. You may:

  • be eligible for a free allocation of allowances
  • buy allowances on the carbon market or at an auction

Buying allowances

If you do not have sufficient allowances available to meet your surrender obligation, you must buy the allowances you need on the carbon market. You can buy them:

  • from a trader with a trading account in the UK ETS Registry
  • from other UK ETS account holders
  • through an auction

A list of UK ETS Registry account holders from whom you may be able to purchase allowances can be found in the UK ETS Public Reports.

Auctions take place at set dates each year. For the most up to date information about auctioning, see the guidance on participating in the UK ETS.

Installation’s emissions recorded in the UK ETS Registry

If you reported correctly by the 31 March reporting deadline, your verified installation’s emissions figure will be recorded in your OHA. Where an independent verifier was used, your emissions will be recorded in your OHA as soon as your report has been submitted to your regulator.

If you do not report by the deadline, or there are errors in your report or the way you reported, your regulator will determine your emissions. This figure will be recorded in your OHA within one month of the date of the notice of determination of emissions.

Surrender allowances by 30 April

You must surrender allowances equal to your reportable emissions in a scheme year from your UK ETS Registry OHA. You must do this by 30 April in the following scheme year.

Your reportable emissions are your emissions from the regulated activities carried out at your installation in that scheme year.

You must make sure you have enough allowances available in your OHA by 30 April to meet your surrender condition.

If you do not surrender the required number of allowances by 30 April, you will receive a mandatory penalty of £100 per tonne of CO2 (multiplied by the inflation factor). This penalty will apply even if you surrender in full after the 30 April deadline.

If you do not surrender sufficient allowances by 30 April in the relevant year (and you do not proactively surrender the deficit after that date), you may receive a ‘deficit notice’. You will be required to surrender the deficit of allowances by a certain date.

It is vital to the integrity of the UK ETS that allowances are surrendered. Therefore, whenever there is a deficit, we will normally issue a deficit notice unless we consider that there is no prospect of the deficit of allowances being surrendered.

If there is a deficit of allowances for an installation in the UK ETS Registry, the transfer of a permit does not remove the obligation to surrender allowances to cover the deficit. After a permit has been transferred, a deficit notice will be issued to the new operator, and they must comply with it.

In preparation for surrender, you should:

  • make sure you can still access your OHA by logging into the UK Emissions Trading Registry
  • check you have sufficient authorised representatives with the permission required to carry out the surrender of allowances in accordance with the transaction rules applying to your OHA

If you need to buy allowances, you should contact your supplier early enough to make sure that allowances are available in your OHA in time for you to surrender by the 30 April deadline. You must allow time for:

  • any necessary due diligence
  • putting the contractual arrangements into place
  • payments to clear (especially if you are making an international bank transfer)
  • any changes to your supplier’s trusted account list
  • delivery, bearing in mind any transaction windows and delays that will affect the timing of the transfer

The delivery of allowances to your OHA by your supplier will be affected by automatic transaction windows and delays over which the registry administrator has no control.

It is only possible to start or complete a transfer of allowances during the transaction window, which is:

  • working days only (not weekends or English or Welsh Bank Holidays)
  • 10am to 4pm UK time

You should also be aware that:

  • a transaction delay of 24 hours will apply if you are not on the trusted account list of your supplier
  • adding your OHA to the trusted account list of your supplier requires 2 authorised representatives and takes 4 working days

You should check with your supplier when the allowances will reach your OHA.

The transaction window and transaction delay do not apply to surrender transactions, which can be made at any time.

Free allocation of allowances

Installations with GHGE permits may be entitled to a free allocation of allowances in line with the FAR or the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2025.

2021 to 2025 allocation period

In 2019, operators of installations with an EU ETS permit on or before 30 June 2019 (incumbent installations) applied for a free allocation of allowances for the 2021 to 2025 allocation period by submitting a verified baseline data report to their regulator. This was the only opportunity for existing incumbents to apply for free allocation in the 2021 to 2025 allocation period. The baseline data report contained all the data set out in article 4(2)(a) of the FAR for the baseline period 2014 to 2018. This report was accompanied by a MMP approved by their regulator, which was attached as an appendix to the permit along with the monitoring plan.

The UK ETS authority published the allocation table in May 2021, setting out each eligible installation’s free allowance entitlement.

2026 allocation period

The 2026 allocation period is treated separately to the preceding and subsequent allocation periods. If you are a free allocation installation during the 2021 to 2025 allocation period (or an existing HSE that will not have this status in the 2026 to 2030 period), your 2026 free allocation will be calculated in line with the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2025.

There are 2 approaches to calculate 2026 free allocation which is dependent on an installation’s 2026 incumbent status.

Type 1 2026 incumbents are free allocation installations in the 2021 to 2025 allocation period (unless you are an existing electricity generator that falls within the ‘type 2 2026 incumbent’ definition).

Type 2 2026 incumbents are:

  • electricity generators in the 2021 to 2025 allocation period that do not meet the (changed) definition of ‘electricity generator’ for the 2026 allocation period – and where the operator submitted, in its application for free allocation (for the 2027 to 2030 allocation period), a statement that it wishes the installation’s eligibility for free allocation in the 2026 allocation period to be assessed on the basis that the installation is not an electricity generator (as defined in Article 2c(3) of the FAR)
  • electricity generators who meet the definition of electricity generator for the 2026 allocation period, but where the operator submitted as part of its application for free allocation (for the 2027 to 2030 allocation period), a statement that the condition in Article 2b(2) of the FAR will be met
  • an HSE or USE in the 2021 to 2025 period who will not be an HSE or USE for the 2026 to 2030 period if a free allocation application for the 2027 to 2030 allocation period is made

The 2026 free allocation for type 1 incumbents will be based on their 2025 free allocation after any relevant activity level change adjustment for 2025. 

The 2026 free allocation for type 2 incumbents will be calculated using 2023 activity levels.

Your 2026 free allocation will be set out in the allocation table published by the UK ETS authority by the end of 2025. In some cases, the 2025 activity level reports (ALRs) may not have been reviewed and approved by the time the allocation table is published at the end of 2025. In such cases, the figures are provisional and may change once the 2025 activity level adjustments have been approved.

2027 to 2030 allocation period

The first stage of the application for free allocation for the 2027 to 2030 allocation period has now closed. This was only available to those who:

  • obtained a GHGE or HSE permit before or on 30 June 2025
  • made an application for a permit that has not yet been determined
  • are a USE for the 2025 scheme year

An application for free allocation in the 2027 to 2030 allocation period is made under Article 4 of the FAR and is in 2 stages:

  1. In the period 1 April to 30 June 2025, you must have submitted a baseline data report, a verification report and a MMP (unless you already have an approved MMP).
  2. In the period 1 April to 30 June 2026, you must notify the regulator if you wish your application to proceed and resubmit documents, if needed, to take account of changes to free allocation policy made since 31 March 2025.

You must complete both stages to receive free allocation for the 2027 to 2030 allocation period. Free allocation will be calculated and approved in line with the FAR. You cannot complete stage 2 without completing stage 1.

This free allocation will be set out in the allocation table published by the UK ETS authority by the end of 2026.

If your installation is included in the table (or, for new entrants, when your regulator notifies you of your final allocation), you are a free allocation installation and must comply with the free allocation conditions in your permit.

The allocation table will be updated periodically to account for changes to allowances and new entrants.

Your free allowances will be allocated to your OHA by the registry administrator by 28 February each year, unless the regulator has instructed the registry administrator to withhold allowances.

Changing, withholding or returning your allocation

Your free allocation in the allocation table may be changed for several reasons. For example, this could be because of:

  • a merger or split
  • changes in activity levels
  • stopping (ceasing) activity
  • ceasing operations
  • errors in the allocation table

All changes to the allocation table must be approved by the UK ETS authority.

There are circumstances where your free allocation may be withheld, meaning that your allocation will not be allocated to your OHA in the registry, in several circumstances. For example, these could include:

  • where the regulator is investigating if your installation has ceased operation
  • where the regulator is assessing a renunciation notice
  • if there has been a merger or split
  • if there is an error in the allocation table
  • where an MMP has not been approved for new entrants

If you receive allowances to which you are not entitled, you must return them or the regulator may instruct the registry administrator to transfer the allowances out of your OHA.

Over-allocation may happen because of an error but may also result from the activity level change process or because of the cessation of a sub-installation or installation.

You will normally receive your free allocation by 28 February each year, but you are not required to submit your ALR until 31 March. If your report shows a decrease in your activity level (or cessation of a sub-installation), which decreases your free allocation entitlement for that year, you must return any over-allocation.

Changes in your activity levels

Your free allocation may be changed because of changes to your activity levels. Or it may be because a sub-installation has ceased operation, as set out in the Activity Level Changes Regulation (ALCR).

The free allocation conditions in your permit require you to monitor and report your activity levels each year. Regulators will assess your report and determine whether your free allocation needs to change. The UK ETS authority must then approve the change and will update the allocation table.

If your free allocation is increased, you will receive the additional allowances you are entitled to. If your free allocation is decreased, you must return the over-allocation.

Ceasing operation

An installation has ‘ceased operation’ when all regulated activities have permanently ceased to be carried out at the installation.

A sub-installation has ‘ceased operation’ when all operations have permanently ceased to be carried out at the sub-installation.

This means that an installation or sub-installation has ceased operation on the date on which the regulated activities or operations were last carried out.

You must notify the regulator, regardless of whether you consider that a cessation is permanent or temporary, of:

  • a cessation of all regulated activities at your installation (through a notification in METS)
  • a cessation of a sub-installation (through your ALR)

If you have ceased operation at an installation, you must notify the regulator of details about the cessation on the ‘notification date’, which is the later of:

  • one month of the day on which all regulated activities ceased to be carried out
  • on or before 31 December in the scheme year in which the cessation occurs

However, you are not required to notify the regulator if:

  • you have applied to surrender your permit
  • all regulated activities authorised by the permit have resumed prior to the notification date

The regulator has the power to give you notice determining that the cessation will be treated as permanent for the purposes of UK ETS legislation. A notice may be given in circumstances in which the regulator is not satisfied that you intend to resume regulated activities (in the case of an installation) or operations (in the case of a sub-installation). A notice may be given for either one of the following:

  • the installation or sub-installation is technically capable of resuming those regulated activities (in the case of installation) or operations (in the case of sub-installations) without physical changes being made
  • you intend for the technical capability for those regulated activities (in the case of installations) or operations (in the case of sub-installations) to resume at the (sub-) installation

The consequences of an installation or sub-installation having ceased operation (including changes to your free allocation) and further details are set out in ‘UKETS16A FAR: Guidance for installations ceasing operation’.

Mergers and splits

This is relevant to you if you are the operator of a new free allocation installation resulting from either:

  • an amalgamation transfer of 2 free allocation installations
  • a partial transfer of a free allocation installation

See the section on transfers for more information about partial and amalgamation transfers.

If at least one of the installations before the merger was an incumbent installation, after your regulator has approved the amalgamation transfer, you must submit a new, verified:

  • baseline data report to cover the baseline period for the new installation and its sub-installations, as if the merger had taken place at the beginning of the baseline period
  • ALR covering the year preceding the transfer date, as if the merger had taken place at the beginning of that year

Contact your regulator to get the baseline data report.

If at least one of the installations before the split was an incumbent installation, after your regulator has approved the partial transfer, both parties must submit new, verified:

  • baseline data reports covering the baseline period for the new installation and its sub-installations, as if the split had taken place at the beginning of the baseline period
  • ALRs covering the year preceding the transfer date, as if the split had taken place at the beginning of that year

If one of the installations before the merger or split was a new entrant, for amalgamation transfers and partial transfers, contact your regulator for guidance about the necessary reports to submit.

All reports must be accompanied by verification reports. Templates are available, see Technical guidance and tools.

For mergers and splits, operators must email baseline data reports and verification reports to their regulator. All other reports must be submitted using METS.

Your regulator will determine the historical activity level of each sub-installation of each new installation. It will calculate the preliminary and final allocation for each scheme year in the relevant allocation period, beginning with the year following the transfer date.

The UK ETS authority will approve the final allocation. It will make any corrections it considers appropriate. Your regulator will inform you of the final allocation approved.

Error in the allocation table

If your regulator considers that there is a material error in the allocation table, it will send details of the error and correction to the UK ETS authority. If the UK ETS authority agrees there is a relevant error, it will approve the final allocation and update the allocation table.

Renouncing your free allocation

You can renounce all your free allocation, or just for certain sub-installations. To do this you must submit a renunciation notice to your regulator to renounce your free allocation for the remaining years of the allocation period. Your regulator will recalculate your final allocation and send this to the UK ETS authority for approval.

NER applications

If you already receive a free allocation and you start operating a new sub-installation, you do not need to apply to the NER. Any changes to your allocation will be considered through the activity level changes process.

Applicants should note that the NER is a limited size. Applications will be administered by the UK ETS authority.

You are a new entrant if you received a permit after 30 June 2019 for the 2021 to 2025 allocation period, and after 30 June 2025 for the 2026 allocation period and 2027 to 2030 allocation period.

If you are an eligible new entrant and wish to apply for a free allocation from the NER, you must submit both: 

  • a new entrant data report that has been verified in accordance with the Verification Regulation, using the ALR template
  • an MMP, using the MMP template

You may apply any time after the end of the year you started normal operations. You must send your report, MMP and verification report to your regulator by email.

If you apply after your installation has been operating for a full calendar year, your new entrant data report must contain data for the year you started operations (year 0), and the first full calendar year of operation (year 1).

Your regulator will calculate your free allocation entitlement based on your historical activity level (HAL). This will be the activity level in the first full calendar year of normal operation. As the HAL can be determined, your final allocation can be calculated for year 0, year 1 and all other remaining years in the allocation period.

If you apply in the year after the year in which you started operation (year 0), your new entrant data report must contain data for year 0 only. Your regulator cannot determine your HAL until it has data for a full calendar year of operation, so it will only calculate your final allocation for year 0.

Your regulator will calculate the final allocation for all remaining years in the allocation period once it has received an ALR which includes data for the first full year of operation.

Your MMP must set out the monitoring methodologies and data sources you used to gather the data for your NER application. You will use these to monitor and report your activity levels in the future.

Your regulator will:

  • assess your new entrant data report
  • determine your HAL, if appropriate
  • calculate your preliminary and final allocation
  • approve or reject your MMP

The UK ETS authority determines whether the application is valid based on its assessment of the information sent by your regulator and approves the final allocation. The UK ETS authority will not approve your final allocation until the MMP has been approved.

Once your final allocation is approved by the UK ETS authority, your regulator will instruct you to vary your permit to enter your MMP in METS.

Your installation will be included in the next update to the allocation table. Once you receive notice from the regulator that your final allocation has been approved, your installation will be a ‘free allocation installation’. The ‘free allocation conditions’ of your permit will apply.

Complying with your activity levels permit conditions

This section applies to operators of free allocation installations who must comply with the free allocation permit conditions related to activity levels. It applies to the allocation periods 2021 to 2025, 2026 and 2027 to 2030.

You must complete the additional tasks in the UK ETS annual cycle by the specified deadlines. If you do not, your regulator may take enforcement action which could result in a civil penalty.

  • 1 January – start monitoring your activity levels
  • 28 February – receive your free allowances for the current scheme year
  • 31 March – submit your ALR and verification report for the previous scheme year using METS
  • July – appoint an appropriate accredited verifier if you have not already done so
  • 30 September – submit an application for a site visit waiver, if required
  • December – consider starting to prepare your annual ALR
  • 31 December – notify your regulator of any non-significant changes to your MMP using METS
  • 31 December – complete your activity level monitoring for that scheme year

Monitor activity levels

You must monitor the activity levels of your installation (including all sub-installations from 1 January to 31 December in each scheme year).

You must monitor in accordance with:

  • your approved MMP (including any written procedures supplementing the plan)
  • the FAR

You use the activity level data collected during your monitoring to produce your ALR.

Prepare your activity level report

You must prepare an ALR using the ALR template. The report must be in accordance with the ALCR and be verified as satisfactory in accordance with the Verification Regulation.

Regulators recommend that you start to prepare for the reporting process during the final quarter of the scheme year. You must submit your reports by 31 March the following year. Preparing early should give you enough time to:

  • appoint a suitably accredited verifier
  • allow your verifier to perform the verifications
  • correct any errors or misstatements
  • submit your report and verification report to your regulator

You will submit your ALR through METS. The annual emissions report workflow will be available in the service on 1 January following the year of compliance.

Rounding data for activity level reporting

Do not round data that you will use to calculate your annual activity levels too soon. Report all variables to an appropriate level of significance. Your allocation will be rounded to the nearest allowance.

The number of significant figures of values reported should be appropriate to their magnitude. The regulators therefore do not consider it appropriate to put a number on what is a ‘significant’ figure because the size of a number when multiplied or divided by another can dictate how many decimal points are significant.

Your verifier should check that the number of significant figures is appropriate. In this context ‘appropriate’ means the point at which including (or omitting) further decimal places in the figures used to calculate the reportable activity level no longer makes a difference to the overall reported activity level.

Record keeping

You must keep records of all relevant data and information for at least 10 years in accordance with articles 7(3) and 9(6) of the FAR. In practice, this is 10 years from the date you submitted your report. So, you will also need to keep the data used in preparing the report even though it may be more than 10 years old.

Submit your ALR

By 31 March, you must submit your verified ALR for the previous scheme year to your regulator using METS.

In certain circumstances, you are required to submit a report covering 2 years of data – see article 3 of the ALCR.

The report must cover the activity level of each sub-installation of the installation in the scheme year. Your independent verifier must also submit their verification report containing their ‘verification opinion statement’ to you using METS.

Your verifier must complete a separate verification report for activity level reporting using this template.

Submit your ALR and emissions report together

You should aim to submit your ALR and the verification report at the same time as you submit your verified annual emissions report. Contact your regulator if you cannot do this.

From 2026 onwards, ALRs will be submitted via a separate standalone workflow in METS rather than as part of the AER workflow. Installations with free allocation status must ensure that they complete both reporting tasks by the 31 March deadline.

The ALR workflow will have the same general functionality as the AER workflow in that operators will receive a task on the 1 January each year to complete their ALR. Operators will still need to upload the ALR excel template to the ALR workflow in METS. Once complete, they will submit the workflow to their verifier via METS. The verifier will upload the verification opinion statement (VOS) as an Excel file to the ALR workflow in METS and return the workflow to the operator when complete. Operators must then submit the completed workflow to the regulator via METS.

If you need to amend your ALR after it has been verified, you must resubmit your report to your verifier before you submit it to your regulator. If, by 31 March, you do not submit a verified ALR that meets all the requirements of the ALCR and Verification Regulation, your regulator may determine your activity levels, in accordance with the ALCR. There will be no increase in allocation if you do not submit your report and your regulator has determined your activity levels. Regulators are entitled to recover their costs for doing this work. You may also receive a civil penalty.

Addressing verifier findings for activity level requirements

If your verifier identifies any non-compliances, non-conformities or recommendations for improvements in your ALR, you might have to resubmit an updated MMP to your regulator for approval.

Your verifier will check if and how you have addressed their findings during the following verification year and assess the risk of misstatements or non-conformities.

Maintaining your MMP

Operators of free allocation installations must regularly check their MMPs to:

  • make sure it reflects the nature and functioning of their installation
  • see whether they can improve the monitoring methodology
  • take account of verifier recommendations for improvements

You must monitor the effectiveness of your control measures, such as your risk assessment, to make sure they are still effective.

You may need to change your MMP as part of this review.

You must let your regulator know about any changes to your MMP.

Changes to the MMP

You must change your MMP in at least the following circumstances, if you:

  • have new emissions or activity levels – these can be as a result of new activities, or from using new fuels or materials not yet contained in the MMP
  • can achieve higher accuracy when determining reported data – this could be as a result of using new measuring instrument types, new sampling or analysis methods, new data sources or other factors
  • find that data resulting from the previously applied monitoring methodology is incorrect
  • find that the MMP does not, or no longer, conforms with the requirements of the FAR
  • must implement recommendations for improving the MMP contained in a verification report

If you make a significant change to your MMP, you must apply to vary your permit through METS. If it is not a significant change, you must notify your regulator through METS on or before 31 December in the year in which the change occurred.

Depending on the nature of the change, you may also need to consider whether you need to make any changes to your monitoring plan.

Variations and significant changes

If your proposed change to the MMP is significant, you must apply to your regulator to vary your permit. You must do this at least 14 days before you make the modification, or where this is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable.

Significant changes to the MMP include:

  • making changes to the installation (including new sub-installations), changing the boundaries of existing sub-installations, or closing sub-installations
  • a change to the monitoring methodology
  • changing a default value or estimation method
  • changes requested by your regulator to make sure the MMP conforms with the FAR

In your application to vary your permit, you must:

  • describe the proposed change
  • explain whether and how the change affects the information in the MMP

Non-significant changes

You must notify your regulator of any non-significant changes to your MMP by 31 December in the year you made the change.

When notifying your regulator of a non-significant change you must:

  • describe the proposed change
  • explain whether and how the change affects the information in the MMP
  • explain how the change complies with the FAR

Permit transfers, surrender and revocation

This section applies to all types of installations.

Permit transfers

There are 3 types of permit transfer:

  • full permit transfers where the complete permit is transferred from one operator to another
  • partial transfers where some parts (the ‘transferred units’) of an installation are transferred from one operator to another
  • amalgamation transfers where 2 installations on the same site are combined into one permit

Where an installation is to be transferred to another operator, or where there is a change to the legal entity operating the installation, the permit holder (transferring operator) and the proposed new operator must jointly apply to the regulator to transfer the permit. They must submit the application using METS. The new operator will need to register as a new installation on the service.

The 2 parties will then need to complete the relevant parts of the application and submit this to their regulator. Either party may pay the required fee.

Where the application is for a full transfer of the permit, the new operator must either submit a new monitoring plan and, if applicable, MMP for approval, or specify the parts of the existing plan that it proposes to vary.

Where the application is for a partial transfer of the permit, the new operator must specify the parts of the existing plan they propose to vary.

Please contact your regulator for guidance about how to submit applications for an amalgamation or partial transfer. The section on mergers and splits tells you what you need to submit if there is a free allocation that needs to be merged or split where a free allocation installation undergoes a partial or amalgamation transfer.

Surrenders and revocation

If your installation has ceased operation, you must apply to surrender your permit through METS by the relevant surrender date, or by a later date as agreed with your regulator.

The relevant surrender date is either one month from the date on which a ‘regulator’s notice’ is given to you by the regulator, determining that the installation has ceased operation, or in any other case, the later of:

  • one month from the date on which the installation ceased operation
  • one month from the date on which the operator no longer intends for one or more regulated activities authorised by the permit to resume at the installation

You may still apply to surrender your permit at any time at which all regulated activities have ceased to be carried out, but you are not obliged to.

If you wish to restart activity, you must then re-apply for a permit so that a permit is in force before the re-start of regulated activities.

Your regulator:

  • may revoke your permit if you do not comply with your obligations under the UK ETS or fail to pay your subsistence fee (where a subsistence fee applies)
  • must revoke your permit if you are required to surrender your permit and you do not submit an application on time

When you surrender a permit, or the regulator revokes one, the regulator will issue a ‘surrender notice’ or ‘revocation notice’. This notice contains requirements the operator must comply with. These requirements include submitting a report of reportable emissions up until the date the surrender or revocation notice takes effect. The operator must also surrender allowances equal to those emissions.

If you are unhappy with a decision

If you are unhappy with a decision your regulator has made, please discuss it with them first. In some cases, you may have a right of appeal. The Order contains details of your rights of appeal.

If the appeal is against a decision by the following organisations, the appeal body is the First-tier Tribunal:

  • the Environment Agency
  • Natural Resources Wales
  • OPRED

If the appeal is against a decision by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the appeal body is the Scottish Land Court.

If the appeal is against a decision by the Chief Inspector (Northern Ireland), the appeal body is the Planning Appeals Commission.

 If you are unhappy for any reason with your verifier, please discuss it with them first. Clause 7.12.11 of EN ISO/IEC 17011 requires national accreditation bodies to allow the accredited verifier the opportunity to deal with complaints before the national accreditation body intervenes.

If you are still not satisfied, you should contact UKAS and inform your regulator.

Legislation relevant to UK ETS

This section lists relevant legislation.

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020 SI 2020 No.1265 (the Order)

The Order has been amended by several subsequent amending Orders. Further amendments are expected in the future.

Where this guidance refers to the Order, it includes all amendments made to the Order.

The Monitoring and Reporting Regulation

The MRR (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2066 of 19 December 2018) as given effect by the Order and subject to modifications in schedule 4 to the Order.

This is an EU Regulation which was given effect by the Order for the purposes of the UK ETS. The Order (and subsequent amending Orders) modifies the MRR so that it is appropriate for the UK ETS.

The Verification Regulation

The Verification Regulation (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2067 of 19 December 2018) as given effect by the Order, and subject to modifications in schedule 5 to the Order.

This is an EU Regulation which was given effect by the Order for the purposes of the UK ETS. The Order (and subsequent amending Orders) modifies the Regulation so that it is appropriate for the UK ETS.

The Free Allocation Regulation (FAR)

The Free Allocation Regulation (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/331 of 19 December 2018) as it has effect in domestic law.

This is an EU Regulation which is assimilated law. This means that it applies in the UK after EU Exit.

The Regulation has been amended by several instruments, including the Order.

The Activity Level Change Regulation (ALCR)

The ALCR (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1842 of 31 October 2019) as it has effect in domestic law.

This is an EU Regulation which is assimilated law. This means that it applies in the UK after EU Exit.

The Regulation has been amended by several instruments, including the Order.