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What it is

How Spain's greenhouse gas emission allowance trading market works

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a government bill. Introduced by the Government. It was introduced on 16 September 2004. Introduced by: Gobierno.

Official title: Government bill regulating the trading scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowances (originating from Royal Decree-Law 5/2004, of August 27).

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 121/000008· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The law creates an emission allowance market: each allowance allows the holder to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent from an installation covered by the law, it is transferable and it is only valid for the period of each National Allocation Plan.
  2. Installations carrying out the activities in Annex I (energy, refining, ferrous metals, cement, lime, glass, ceramics, paper pulp and paper and cardboard) need a greenhouse gas emission permit, granted by the autonomous community where they are located.
  3. The National Allocation Plan sets, for three- and five-year periods, the total number of allowances to be distributed and the allocation procedure. Allocation for the first period (2005-2007) is free, and for the second period 90% is free.
  4. Each operator must submit a verified report on the previous year's emissions before February 28 and surrender allowances equal to those verified emissions before April 30. Missing that deadline leads to penalties.
  5. The National Allowance Registry is created, attached to the Ministry of the Environment and open to the public, where all issuance, ownership, transfer, transmission, surrender and cancellation of allowances is recorded.
  6. Several installations with the same activity can group together to jointly meet the allowance surrender obligation through a fiduciary administrator, with authorization from the Council of Ministers and the European Commission's approval. Grouping is not allowed in the electricity sector during 2005-2007.

Who it affects

  • Operators of installations in activities such as energy, refining, metals, cement, glass, ceramics or paper: they must apply for a permit, monitor and verify their emissions and surrender allowances each year.: New obligations
  • Companies that want to open or expand installations covered by the law: they can request allowances from the new entrants reserve.: Access to allowances
  • Public authorities: autonomous communities grant permits and impose penalties, while the State approves the National Allocation Plan and manages the National Allowance Registry.: Division of powers
  • Individuals or companies that want to buy emission allowances: they must open an account in the National Allowance Registry.: Requirement to trade

Words worth knowing

Derecho de emisión (emission allowance)
A transferable permit to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent from an installation covered by the law.
Plan Nacional de asignación (National Allocation Plan)
A rule that sets how many emission allowances are distributed in total and how they are allocated to each installation over a three- or five-year period.
Administrador fiduciario (fiduciary administrator)
A person who represents a group of pooled installations and is responsible for surrendering the emission allowances for all of them.
Silencio administrativo (administrative silence)
If the administration does not answer within the deadline, the application is deemed rejected.
Nuevo entrante (new entrant)
A new or expanded installation that receives a permit after notification of the National Allocation Plan and can request allowances from the reserve.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced16 September 2004Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted21 September 2004The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments27 September 2004Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee27 October 2004A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenaryno dateAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate15 December 2004The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE24 February 2005It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 9 official steps on a timeline
Sept 2004Oct 2004Nov 2004Dec 2004Jan 200511. 16 September 2004: Presentación22. 21 September 2004: Comisión de Medio Ambiente Publicación desde 21/09/2004 hasta 27/09/200433. 21 September 2004: Calificación44. 27 September 2004: Comisión de Medio Ambiente Enmiendas desde 27/09/2004 hasta 27/10/200455. 27 October 2004: Comisión de Medio Ambiente Informe desde 27/10/2004 hasta 09/12/200466. 9 December 2004: Comisión de Medio Ambiente Aprobación con competencia legislativa plena desde 09/12/2004 hasta 15/12/200477. 15 December 2004: Senado desde 15/12/2004 hasta 09/02/200588. 9 February 2005: Pleno Enmiendas o veto del Senado desde 09/02/2005 hasta 24/02/200599. 24 February 2005: Concluido - (Aprobado con modificaciones) desde 24/02/2005 hasta 05/04/2005

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

The same initiative in the other chamber:

Published in the BOE: Law 1/2005, of March 9, regulating the regime of the trading of greenhouse gas emission allowances.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

Read the full method · Report an error