Environmental taxes, reliefs and schemes for businesses
UK Emissions Trading Scheme
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) covers all businesses from energy-intensive industries, and the power generation and aviation sectors.
Power generators in Northern Ireland cannot use the UK ETS, and must instead continue to use the EU ETS.
How it works
If you’re covered by the scheme, you must obtain 1 UK allowance (UKA) for every tonne of carbon you emit. You can obtain UKAs by:
- purchasing them at auction
- purchasing them from traders or other organisations participating in the scheme
- obtaining a free allocation of allowances, if you are a business at risk of carbon leakage
Find out more about purchasing UKAs at auction, from traders or from other scheme participants.
Annual reporting
The reporting year ends on 31 December each year. You must provide independently verified reports of your emissions by 31 March the following year, and surrender the correct amount of UKAs for your emissions by 30 April.
Participating in the scheme
If you’re covered by the scheme you’ll need to ensure you are compliant with the rules for your sector.