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Real Decree 986/2015, October 30, By Which Regulated The Drag Of Units From The First To The Second Period Of The Kyoto Protocol Commitment To Account Holders With Account In The National Registry Of Spain.

Original Language Title: Real Decreto 986/2015, de 30 de octubre, por el que se regula el arrastre de unidades del primer al segundo periodo de compromiso del Protocolo de Kioto a los titulares de cuenta privados con cuenta abierta en el registro nacional de España.

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TEXT

The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) set binding and quantified targets for limiting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions for the United Nations. industrialised countries, to be carried out during the period from 2008 to 2012, called the first commitment period. Subsequently, at the international climate change summit held in Doha in December 2012, the countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol adopted a package of amendments in order to provide continuity to the legal and institutional framework. established by the said Protocol, determining a second commitment period for the years 2013 to 2020.

Both the Kyoto Protocol and the Decisions implementing it adopted by the Conference of the Parties to their quality of meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol establish a series of procedures to be initiated by the Kyoto Protocol. the end of the first commitment period in order to carry out verification of compliance with the greenhouse gas emission reduction obligations of each Party for that period, as well as the specific treatment to be carried out by the to be given to the emission units defined in the framework of the Protocol. These procedures include, among others, the presentation of a National Inventory of greenhouse gas emissions that includes the historical series from the year 1990 to the year 2012 and the review by teams of experts. independent reviewers, in order to make the final determination of the emissions and removals of each country Party during the period 2008-2012. A process of removal of the emission units necessary to cover the emissions produced may also be carried out, a process of entrainment of the first to the second commitment period of the spare units and a process may be carried out. final cancellation of the units which would not have been dragged or cancelled in previous stages. These procedures should be carried out from the year 2015, in accordance with the deadlines set by the decisions taken by the Conference of the Parties in their capacity as meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.

In particular, the processes of entrainment to the second commitment period (2013-2020) of units generated in the first commitment period (2008-2012) that have not been withdrawn or cancelled in that first period may be be performed after the following temporary milestones have been reached:

1. The revision of the National Inventory of greenhouse gas emissions that includes the historical series from the year 1990 to the year 2012 and which was to be completed by August 10, 2015 at the latest, although it was completed before the date intended;

2. The completion of the additional 100-day period, with respect to 10 August 2015, to meet the emission reduction commitments for the first commitment period (period referred to as "true-up period"). In accordance with Decision 3/CMP.10 of the Conference of the Parties to their quality of meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (Date of completion of the expert examination process provided for in Article 8 of the Kyoto Protocol, for the first commitment period), this deadline ends on 18 November 2015.

3. The referral of the report on compliance with the greenhouse gas emission reduction obligations of the first commitment period (the "true-up period report" report) that each Party should provide the Secretariat of the UNFCCC after the end of the 100-day period, no later than 45 days after the expiry of that period; that is, on 2 January 2016.

4. The determination of compliance with the commitments under the Protocol for each Party, to be carried out after the review of that report and no later than 9 April 2016, in accordance with Decisions 22 /CMP.1 (Guidelines for the examination provided for in Article 8 of the Kyoto Protocol) and 3/CMP.10.

Therefore, from 9 April 2016, the process of dragging into the second commitment period (2013-2020) of the units generated during the first commitment period (2008-2012) that have not been completed may be initiated. withdrawn or cancelled.

The Parties to the Kyoto Protocol included in Annex I of the UNFCCC should establish and maintain a national registry (hereinafter "the national Kyoto register") in accordance with the technical standards and specifications laid down in the Section A of Part II of the Annex to Decision 19 /CP.7 of the Conference of the Parties (Modes of Accounting for the quantities attributed, as provided for in Article 7, paragraph 4 of the Kyoto Protocol). The purpose of this registration is to ensure the exact accounting of the issue, ownership, transfer, cancellation and withdrawal of the units generated under the Protocol. These units are the so-called emission reduction units (ERUs), certified emission reductions (CERs in the case of permanent and RCEs and RCEl in the case of temporary ones), assigned amount units (AAUs) and units of absorption (UDA).

In the case of the Parties belonging to the European Economic Area, the national Kyoto registers are consolidated on a common platform in which these national registers and the Union Registry are managed. The latter has been established for the purposes of the accounting monitoring of the EU ETS.

The common platform referred to is known as the Consolidated System of European Records (CSEUR). Each Member State manages a set of accounts in a national area located on this common platform. These accounts managed by Member States have different coding depending on whether they are open accounts in a national registry Kyoto or open in a national area of the Union Registry.

Both records, the Union Registry and the national Kyoto registers, meet the technical specifications needed to function as records of the Kyoto Protocol. The difference between the two lies in the fact that the regulation of the establishment and development of the EU ETS also applies to the Union Registry. This is the result of the fact that, in general, the accounts opened in the Union Registry are subject to a greater number of limitations in their operation than the accounts opened in the national Kyoto registers.

The drag to the second commitment period of the Kyoto units that have originated during the first period implies that these units will continue to exist after all the processes related to the closure of the first period, so that they may continue to be used in the second commitment period, subject to the restrictions laid down by the rules applicable in this respect. In respect of units which are not dragged into the following commitment period, the registry administrator shall be cancelled in compliance with paragraph 32 of the Annex to Decision 13 /CMP.1 (Accounting procedures for the quantities Article 7 (4) of the Kyoto Protocol (Article 7 (4)). In accordance with paragraph 35 of that Annex, the units cancelled by the Parties to the Protocol may not be used to demonstrate compliance with their reduction commitments, which means that the cancellation is the final elimination. of the units without it being possible to count them for compliance purposes.

Decision 13 /CMP.1 sets out in paragraph I. F of its Annex the provisions relating to the dragging of units. In accordance with that Decision, the Party may draw the following commitment period:

(a) The Emissions Reduction Units (ERUs) held in their national register that have not been converted from the Absorption Units (UDA) and that have not been withdrawn for that commitment period or cancelled, up to a maximum 2,5% of the amount attributed to that Party in accordance with paragraphs 7 and 8 of Article 3 of the Protocol;

(b) Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) kept in their national register that have not been withdrawn for that commitment period or cancelled, up to a maximum of 2,5% of the amount attributed to that Part of Conformity with paragraphs 7 and 8 of Article 3 of the Protocol;

c) Assigned Quantity Units (AAUs) held in their national registry that have not been withdrawn for that commitment period or cancelled, in full.

Absorption units (UDA) cannot be dragged into the following commitment period.

Thus, in accordance with the Decisions under the Kyoto Protocol, the Parties have the power to carry out the carry-over of these units and, if they so decide, they must implement the rules that guarantee compliance effective of the limits of 2.5% drag of UREs and RCTs.

In this sense, under the provisions of the international framework, a series of actions by the States that confirm in one sense or another the possibility of dragging of units in their registers are necessary. (a) to the extent to which it is necessary to ensure that the public ownership units are carried out in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 3 (1) of the Directive

The Spanish Government has exercised the options that international law and the European Union grant to the discretionary scope of the sovereignty of the States Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, adopting the decision to drag the all public ownership units, as well as allowing the entrainment of the ERUs and CERs of private account holders with an open account in the Spanish National Register within the limits permitted by international law indicated.

According to this, this royal decree regulates, on the one hand, the trawling of private account holders with an open account in the Spanish National Register, within the limits set, certain extremes on the extent to which this drag has for the participants in the flexibility mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol and in the Kyoto national registry of Spain.

On the other hand, this royal decree attributes the execution of the drag of the units of public ownership to the Directorate General of the Spanish Office of Climate Change.

With regard to national regulation, Law 1/2005 of 9 March, which regulates the regime of trade in greenhouse gas emission allowances, transposes Directive 2003 /87/EC of the European Parliament and of the European Parliament and of the European Parliament the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a system for the trade in greenhouse gas emission rights in the Community and amending Council Directive 96 /61/EC, allowing the installations and the environment to be used for the purposes of the Air operators use RCTs and UREs within the framework of that scheme, in accordance with the limitations established by Article 11bis of that Directive and specified in Regulation (EU) No 389/2013 establishing the Union Registry. The second provision of Law 1/2005, of 9 March, regulates the mechanisms based on projects under the Kyoto Protocol. In addition, Royal Decree 1031/2007 of 20 July 2007 for the development of the framework for participation in the flexibility mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol regulates the participation of private account holders in such mechanisms of the Protocol. Among other aspects, Article 5 authorises all holders of open accounts in the Kyoto national registry of Spain to transfer and acquire CERs and ERUs in accordance with Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol on participation in operations. of emissions trading. According to this authorisation, the holders of the accounts opened in the Spanish national register which have considered it appropriate have operated with CERs and ERUs originating in the first period of commitment of the Protocol. This explains that units of this type are still available today in their accounts.

However, neither Royal Decree 1031/2007 of 20 July nor Law 1/2005 of 9 March clarifies whether the RCTs and UREs generated in the first commitment period may be dragged in order to preserve their validity after completion this period or if they must be eliminated by cancellation. They also do not specify which units, if any, can be dragged.

The third final provision of Law 1/2005, of March 9, enables the Government, in the field of its powers, to issue the necessary provisions for the development of the law.

Based on the aforementioned legal enablement for regulatory development, this royal decree regulates the drag of RCE and ERUs from the period 2008-2012 to the period 2013-2020 located in accounts opened by private operators in the area. Spanish of the Consolidated System of European Records.

It is important to note that this royal decree regulates the drag of CERs and ERUs from private account holders only. On the other hand, it authorizes the entrainment of CERs and ERUs under certain conditions, but, as it could not be otherwise, it does not change the permitted uses for such units in Community legislation. For example, the RCTs and UREs of the first commitment period dragged into the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol will remain unable to be used in the European Emissions Trading Scheme because they are not among the types of units which may be used in accordance with Article 11a of Directive 2003 /87/EC.

In particular, this royal decree allows the entrainment of CERs and ERUs of private account holders of the units which, as of 1 April 2015, are in the accounts of the national registry of Kyoto or the Spanish area of the Register of the Union. The choice of this date is justified by the limitation laid down in Decision 13 /CMP.1 with regard to the amount of units susceptible to drag from one commitment period to the next. This date corresponds to the day on which these units are no longer usable under the Community emission allowance trading scheme in accordance with Article 11a of Directive 2003 /87/EC, the main framework for the use of the such units by private holders of the Spanish area.

Furthermore, it should be noted that, in accordance with the regulatory provisions adopted under the Kyoto Protocol which are applicable, the entrainment of CERs and ERUs between periods of commitment is an operation which only can be carried out from open accounts in a national Kyoto register since it is an operation which can only be carried out on certain units issued under it (UCAs, RCEs and UREs, in particular). Private holders cannot contain UCAs in their accounts in accordance with the national regulations in force. Thus, only the RCE and ERUs holding assets held in the accounts of the national Kyoto Register (accounts whose numbering starts with ES-100 in respect of the State's accounts) may be carried over to the period 2013-2020. and accounts whose numbering starts at ES-120 or ES-121, as far as private ownership is concerned).

From the end of the above 100-day additional deadline to meet the commitments for the first commitment period ("true up period"), this is, as of 18 November 2015, it will not be possible to make transfers of RCTs and UREs between the different national Kyoto registers, or between those registers and the Union Registry, in accordance with Section XIII of the Annex to Decision 27 /CMP.1 and Decision 3/CMP.10. In the light of this limitation, the unit trawl may only be carried out in respect of the units which are housed in the accounts of the Kyoto National Register holding accounts on that date. In this way, the assets held on 1 April 2015 in the accounts of assets and trade in the Spanish area of the Union Registry shall have been transferred by their respective holders before 18 November 2015 to an account of the Kyoto national register in order to be eligible for such trawl.

Additionally, in order to preserve the usefulness of investments made by individuals in the scope of the Kyoto Protocol and to ensure, in turn, the operability of the trawl, this royal decree also contemplates the the possibility of carrying out the entrainment of CERs originating in the first commitment period which are transferred between 1 April and 18 November 2015 from the register of the Clean Development Mechanism to any of the accounts of the Private holders noted.

The Directorate-General of the Spanish Climate Change Office will execute the drag of the public ownership units, in accordance with the provisions of the Protocol.

In its virtue, on the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, in agreement with the Council of State and after deliberation of the Council of Ministers at its meeting on October 30, 2015,

DISPONGO:

Article 1. Units that are the object of drag.

1. Certified emission reductions (CERs) and emission reduction units (UREs) originating in the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012) may be dragged into the second commitment period (2013-2020), shall be found, as of 1 April 2015, in the accounts of the operator holding accounts, aircraft operator holding accounts, person holding accounts and open trade accounts in the Spanish area of the Union Registry as well as in the accounts of person holding (accounts whose numbering starts at ES-121) and accounts of holding assets installation operator (accounts whose numbering starts with ES-120) opened in the Kyoto National Register.

2. Certified emission reductions (CERs) originating in the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012) that are transferred directly from the Development Mechanism register may also be carried forward. Clean to any of the accounts identified in the previous paragraph, after 1 April 2015 and up to and including 18 November 2015.

Item 2. Drag of drives.

1. The Spanish National Administrator shall carry out the carry-over of the certified emission reductions and emission reduction units referred to in Article 1 (1) which have been transferred by 18 November at the latest. 2015, in favour of open private holder holding accounts in the national Kyoto Register belonging to the same holder.

2. The Spanish National Administrator shall carry out the carry-over of the certified emission reductions referred to in Article 1, paragraph 2, which, on 18 November 2015, are housed in private-holder holding accounts opened in the Kyoto National Register, provided that the said units remain the ownership of the participant to which they were delivered.

Article 3. Cancellation of drives.

1. After the carry-over operation referred to in Article 2 has been carried out, the remainder of certified emission reductions and emission reduction units originating in the first commitment period to be found in holding accounts the Kyoto National Register and would not have been dragged into the second commitment period will be cancelled in accordance with what is agreed in this respect at the CNMUCC level.

2. Any certified emission reduction originating in the first commitment period which is transferred to an account of the Kyoto National Register after the carrying out of the trawl operation referred to in Article 2 shall be cancelled.

Single additional disposition. Drag from public ownership units.

The Directorate-General of the Spanish Climate Change Office shall proceed to the drag of the public ownership units, in accordance with the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol.

Final disposition first. Competence title.

This royal decree is dictated by the exclusive powers of the State provided for in Article 149.1.13. and 23. of the Constitution in terms of bases and coordination of the general planning of the activity. economic and basic legislation on environmental protection.

Final disposition second. Faculty of development.

The Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment is empowered to develop the provisions of this royal decree.

Final disposition third. Entry into force.

This royal decree will enter into force on the day following its publication in the "Official Gazette of the State".

Given in Madrid, on October 30, 2015.

FELIPE R.

The Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment,

ISABEL GARCÍA TEJERINA