1. Outline
This is a letter from Nigel Topping CMG, Chair of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), to Chris McDonald MP, Minister for Industry.
This letter provides the CCC’s advice on implementing CO2 non-pipeline transport (NPT) in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS).
2. Key messages
The Committee recommends the following:
- That emissions for CO2 transport by road, rail, and ships below 5000GT should be included in the UK ETS. Emitters of CO2 covered by the UK ETS are obliged to surrender allowances for those volumes of CO2. CCS will remove this obligation for the CO2 that is captured and stored, so any additional emissions caused by that CCS should also be included.
- That CO2 NPT emissions should be counted as zero for vehicles with zero emissions at the tailpipe, and emissions factors should be set for broad types of drivetrains for other vehicles, rather than reported exactly for each vehicle. The Committee’s view is that this would give the best balance between accuracy and simplicity of reporting.
- That no additional UK ETS allowances should be released. CO2 NPT is not an additional sector or subsector of the economy being added to the UK ETS, but rather a decarbonisation measure for sectors and subsectors already in the UK ETS, so it would not be appropriate to release additional allowances for it.
