Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Act

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Basic data
Title: Law on Trading in Allowances to Emit
Greenhouse Gases
Short title: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Act
Abbreviation: TEHG
Type: Federal law , objection law
Scope: Federal Republic of Germany
Legal matter: Environmental law , business administration law
References : 2129-55
Original version from: July 8, 2004
( BGBl. I p. 1578 )
Entry into force on: July 15, 2004
Last revision from: July 21, 2011
( BGBl. I p. 1475 )
Entry into force of the
new version on: 		July 28, 2011
Last change by: Art. 2 G of August 8, 2020
( Federal Law Gazette I p. 1818, 1848 )
Effective date of the
last change: 		August 14, 2020
(Art. 11 G of August 8, 2020)
GESTA : E035
Weblink: Text of the TEHG
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Act (Law on Trading in Allowances for the Emission of Greenhouse Gases, TEHG) of July 28, 2011 forms the legal basis in Germany for trading in allowances for the emission of greenhouse gases in an EU-wide emissions trading system and sets Directive 2003 / 87 / EG (Emissions Trading Directive) . The aim of the law and its forerunner of the same name, valid from 2004 to 2011, is the cost-efficient reduction of greenhouse gases (see emissions trading ). It creates the legal prerequisite for compliance with the commitments for the Member States to reduce greenhouse gases agreed in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol .

The emissions trading system primarily includes companies with combustion systems with a thermal output of over 20 megawatts, as well as other larger production systems in energy-intensive industries and the emission of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O). Aviation has also been participating in emissions trading since 2009. Operators of such systems must apply for an emission permit, determine the amount of greenhouse gases emitted and report on them; the report is verified by a testing agency. You must also submit a monitoring plan for emissions identification and reporting that must comply with the EU Monitoring Regulation.

Every year, companies must submit a number of emission allowances corresponding to their emissions. There are various ways in which you can obtain such authorizations: You can obtain them on request through a free allocation by the German state, you can buy them at an auction on the primary market or buy them on the secondary market. There is also a limited possibility of exchanging emission reduction credits from the Clean Development Mechanism and the Joint Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol for emission allowances. Excess allowances can be sold on the secondary market. Authorizations are transferred by changing the emissions trading register. The price of the allowances and the trade in them should give companies an incentive to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The TEHG stipulates sanctions in the event that companies violate their obligations.

The amount to be auctioned is assigned to the federal government by the European Commission . The proceeds from the primary auctions flow to the federal government. The amount of the free allocation for the various plants is officially determined in accordance with the requirements of the European Union and reported to the European Commission. Air transport companies receive emission allowances free of charge in the amount of their transport performance two years before the start of the trading period; if their transport performance increases sharply, they also receive an allocation from a special reserve. The special reserve also serves new companies entering the market. The TEHG contains rules for participating in the auctions. It authorizes the government to regulate further details of the allocation in an allocation ordinance. Up to and including 2012, the allocation was carried out in accordance with an Allocation Act (ZuG) via national allocation plans .

The allocation of emission allowances and trading are organized in so-called trading periods. The first three-year period began in 2005 and ends in 2007, the second ran from 2008 to 2012, the third trading period has been running since 2013, and the fourth will begin in 2021.

In most cases, the competent authority is the Federal Environment Agency . A German emissions trading office set up at the Federal Environment Agency distributes and deletes certificates to the extent that CO 2 has been emitted. The examination of allocation applications and the operational emissions reports is carried out by accredited test centers. The federal government is also empowered to issue specific legal ordinances. These must move within the framework of the European legislation linked to the EU Emissions Trading Directive.

See also

literature

  • Lars Hoffmann, Martin Fleckner, Inga Budde: TEHG ZuV 2020 - Practical commentary on the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Act and the Allocation Ordinance 2020 . Richard Boorberg Verlag, Stuttgart / Munich 2017. ISBN 978-3-415-05890-3 .
  • Raimund Körner, Hans-Peter Vierhaus, Sebastian von Schweinitz: TEHG. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Act, Allocation Act 2007. Comment . CH Beck, Munich 2005. ISBN 3-406-52551-2
  • Martin Maslaton: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Act - hand comment . Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden 2005, ISBN 3-8329-1011-5
  • Carl-Stephan Schweer, Christian von Hammerstein, Bernhard Ludwig: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Act , Cologne 2004, ISBN 978-3-452-25771-0
  • Carl-Stephan Schweer, Christian von Hammerstein: Allocation Act 2007 , Cologne 2006, ISBN 978-3-452-25813-7

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Appendix 1, TEHG.
  2. ↑ Allocation Ordinance 2020 (ZuV 2020)