Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to protect British companies who are planning to use their EU emissions trading system allowance provided in 2018 to meet their 2017 obligations.

The Government recognises the desire for clarity regarding the UK’s participation in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) as we withdraw from the EU. To provide certainty to business and others, the Government has proposed moving forward the 2018 reporting and compliance deadlines for UK participants to before the date of the UK’s withdrawal in 2019. Subject to responses from our consultation published on 6 November, we intend to have this measure in place before the end of the year.

This change will render unnecessary the alternative measures proposed in a recently agreed amendment to the EU ETS Directive, which would mean that allowances issued by the UK in 2018 would not be usable for compliance. The UK will continue to engage with the EU institutions, Member States and others to reach an agreed position.