Transaction types

An Authorised Representative (AR) can transfer units from his account via the registry interface. In order to do so, he needs to go to the details of his account via "Accounts" > "View Details", to choose the "Holdings" tab and to click on the "Propose a transaction" button.

Several types of transactions exist:

  • Transfer of allowances (EUA, EUAA, CHU and CHUA)
    Transfer of Kyoto units (AAU, RMU, ERU, CER, lCER and tCER)

    By default, prior to make transfers outside an (aircraft) operator holding account, the destination account needs to be added to the trusted list of accounts (TAL) first.

    In order to make a transfer of allowances or Kyoto units an AR with Initiator rights (role 2 or 4) needs to initiate it and an AR with approver rights (role 3 or 4) has to approve it.

    The approval of a transfer is done by approving the corresponding task in the registry (also see Approve or reject a task (Task management)).

    Bilateral transactions :

    When entering a transfer, it is mandatory to indicate whether or not it is a bilateral transaction.

    • A bilateral transaction is an over-the-counter trade executed between two entities without any intermediaries.
    • Transactions that are registered at a market venue or cleared at a central counterparty are examples of non-bilateral transactions.
    • Transfers between different accounts of the same account holder should always be indicated as non-bilateral.

    Abolish the 4-eye principle :

    • In order to make transfers to the TAL without approval by a second person, any account holder may explicitly request to abolish the 4-eyes principle for a specific account (more information here). In this case an AR with Initiator rights (role 2 or 4) may effectuate a transfer in his/her own.

    Allow transfers outside the TAL (OHA/AOHA) :

    • (Aircraft) Operator holding accounts may explicitly opt to enable transfers outside their TAL (more information here) ; for trading accounts this is always permitted.
    Transfers to accounts that are not listed on the TAL are always subject to approval by a second person (4-eyes-principle).

    Detailed information on all transaction rules can be found on this page.

  • Surrender of allowances (EUA, EUAA, CHU and CHUA)

    Before the end of September, every (aircraft) operator needs to compensate the (verified) emissions from the previous year. This compensation is done by surrendering an amount of general or aviation allowances at least equal to the verified emissions. Any surrendered surplus (or deficit) will be taken into account for the next years compliance obligations and will hence be carried over into Phase IV (2021-2030).

    In order to make a surrendering of allowances from an (aircraft) operator holding account, an AR with Initiator rights (role 2 or 4) needs to initiate it and an AR with approver rights (role 3 or 4) has to approve it. Only if the account holder explicitly requested to abolish the 4-eyes principle, an AR with Initiator rights (role 2 or 4) can effectuate a surrendering on his/her own (see here for more information).

    When initiating a surrendering transaction, the registry will clearly display the cumulated verified emissions and the cumulated surrendered units, as well as a compliance figure. This compliance figure indicates whether sufficient allowances have yet been surrendered or not.

    A negative compliance figure indicates that this amount of allowances still needs to be surrendered.
    Swiss allowances (CHU/CHUA) may also be surrendered by (aircraft) operators.
    Operators of fixed installations may only surrender general allowances (EUA/CHU) for their Phase III (2013-2020) compliance ; for their Phase IV (2021-2030) compliance they could in addition use aviation allowances (EUAA/CHUA).
  • Deletion of allowances (EUA, EUAA, CHU and CHUA)
    Voluntary cancellation of Kyoto units (AAU, RMU, CER, lCER and tCER)

    Users can voluntarily remove emission units from the ETS by deleting allowances or by cancelling Kyoto units via the registry interface. This action removes the units effectively from the system and ensures the units can no longer be used (for ex. for compliance obligations), nor be transfered elsewhere.

    By deleting or voluntarily cancelling an emission unit, one effectively reduces emissions with one ton CO2 equivalent.
  • Exchange CER, ERU units for Phase 3 allowances

    In Phase III (2013-2020) of the EU-ETS, CERs and ERUs can no longer be surrendered directly. These Kyoto units have to be exchanged first for general allowances (EUAs, in case of an OHA) or aviation allowances (EUAAs, in case of an AOHA). The resulting EUAs/EUAAs (after exchange) are indistinguishable from other EUAs/EUAAs and can directly be used for surrendering.

    A limit is set per installation and aircraft operator on the number of credits that may be exchanged, the so-called credit entitlement. See below for more information on the calculation of the credit entitlements.

    Part of the limit may have been surrendered for phase II (2008-2012), or may have been exchanged already. Only the remaining part, the remaining entitlement, can still be used for surrendering.,

    The limit, the already surrendered units and the remaining entitlement of each installation or aircraft operators are displayed in the registry on the account "Holdings" tab accessible via "Accounts" by clicking on the balance of the respective account.

    Technically, an exchange transaction consists of an outgoing transaction (type 10-71) with international credits to the EU central account EU-100-5022590-0-XX, automatically and immediately followed by an incoming transaction (type 10-72) with general allowances (aviation allowances in case of an aircraft operator) from the EU central account EU-100-5022593-0-XX.

    Only eligible international credits (CERs and ERUs) can be exchanged for allowances.
    An exchange transaction needs to be confirmed by a second person (unless the 4-eyes principle has been explicitely abolished).
    Any remaining international credit entitlement is no longer valid as of May 1, 2021 and is hence lost. Any exchange of international credits (CERs / ERUs) must hence take place before that date.

A transfer is just one type of transaction!

Limits in exchanging international credits (CERs and ERUs)

In Phase III (2013-2020) of the EU-ETS, the Competent Authorities determined the initial quantitative limits for each installation based upon harmonised rules:

  • If the installation had free allocations or a permission to use international credits during the phase II (2008-2012), the limit is set to 11% of the free allocations during that phase (2008-2012).
  • If the installation did not have free allocations nor a permission to use international credits during phase II (2008-2012), or if the installation only became subject to the ETS after 2012, the limit is set to 4.5% of the verified emissions in phase III (2013-2020). This limit is recalculated automatically upon the upload of verified emissions.
  • The limit may be calculated by a combination of both methods above in case of a significant capacity increase, or in case of a new entrant due to the extension of the scope of the Directive, or in case of certain merged or split installations,...
  • For aircraft operators the limit is set to 1.5% of their verified emissions in phase III (2013-2020) in addition to the allowed limit for the year 2012.

All limits have been calculated and gathered in the National Credit Entitlement Table. The initial credit entitlement table has been submitted by the National Climate Commission for approval to the European Commission and has been approved in 2014. Subsequent updates (ex. for new entrants) have been done to the table since than and automatic recalculation is done by the registry upon any upload of verified emissions.

The actual status of the Belgian credit entitlement table can be found at the EUTL: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ets/ice.do?languageCode=en®istryCode=BE&accountFullTypeCode=-1&iceInstallationId=&search=Search¤tSortSettings=.

As the initial credit entitlement is calculated by the Competent Authorities based upon the harmonised rules, questions related to this initial credit entitlement should preferrably directly be addressed to the Competent Authorities.

Any remaining international credit entitlement is no longer valid as of May 1, 2021 and is hence lost. Any exchange of international credits (CERs / ERUs) must hence take place before that date.

 

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