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This consultation sought views on the Government’s proposals to include nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from nitric acid production into Phase II of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). This proposal is an option accorded to Member States by the EU ETS Directive, and is conditional on approval by the European Commission.

The Government announced in the June 2010 Budget its intention to make an application to the European Commission to include unilaterally N2O emissions from nitric acid production into Phase II of the EU ETS.

The EU ETS is a system designed to put a price on carbon emissions and incentivise abatement at the lowest cost. N2O is a highly potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential of 310 times that of CO2. There is a significant N2O emissions reduction potential in the nitric acid sector, this means that companies can dramatically bring their emissions down once they see a carbon price incentive.

A Phase II opt-in will encourage early abatement and contribute to building a low carbon manufacturing sector. It is anticipated that the N2O opt-in will save around 1.6MtCO2e compared to average annual emissions over 2011 and 2012. This will assist the UK in reducing emissions under the Kyoto Protocol 1st commitment period and in meeting our national carbon budgets.

DECC sought views from all interested parties. Due to the specific subject matter of the consultation, the consultation was limited to a 4 week period. **The closing date for responses was 8 November 2010.
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Contact us

Email: eu.ets@decc.gsi.gov.uk

This consultation is now closed and Government would like to thank respondents for their contributions to the consultation. The Government Response to the consultation was published on 08 April 2011.

Next steps: Government have laid draft regulations implementing the opt-in before both Houses of Parliament. They will come into force subject to the approval of Parliament.

Post-consultation documents

Consultation documents