By Published: 03-01-2013
On 31 December 2012, the EEA EFTA States and the EU adopted three Joint Committee Decisions (JCDs) incorporating five legal acts related to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) into the EEA Agreement, thereby enabling the Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to continue to participate fully in the ETS and ensuring a smooth transition to the third phase of the system from 1 January 2013.
The three JCDs were adopted by written procedure, an exceptional procedure envisaged for the adoption of JCDs on important and urgent matters outside the regular EEA Joint Committee meetings where such decisions are usually adopted:
EEA Joint Committee Decision No 234/2012 (incorporating Commission Regulation (EU) No 600/2012)
EEA Joint Committee Decision No 235/2012 (incorporating Commission Regulation (EU) No 601/2012, Commission Regulation (EU) No 784/2012 and Commission Decision 2012/498/EU)
EEA Joint Committee Decision No 236/2012 (Commission Regulation (EU) No 1193/2011 - Union Registry)
The ETS is a cornerstone of the EU's policy to combat climate change by cost-effectively reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is a "cap and trade" system with a cap or limit on the amount of certain greenhouse gases that can be emitted, and with emission permits that can be traded between covered facilities such as power plants, industrial facilities and aircraft operators. The EEA EFTA States have been participating in the EU ETS since 2008.
The third trading phase of the EU ETS, which starts on 1 January 2013, comes with substantial changes. Some of these changes are contained in the acts that have just been incorporated into the EEA Agreement, notably a single Union registry in place of national registries for the trading of emission permits.
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