UK ETS compliance deadlines pushed back further

The UK government has again pushed back the deadline for firms to surrender EU emissions trading system (ETS) allowances to cover the 2018 calendar year, meaning UK installations will now face the same deadline as emitters in other European countries.

The UK's new deadline for 2018 EU ETS compliance is 30 April, the government said today, the same as for other EU member states.

The UK deadline was previously 12 April. The government has now moved the deadline four times in response to developments over the country's EU exit.

The latest change follows the EU's decision earlier this week to delay Brexit until 31 October 2019, with an option for the country to exit earlier if the UK parliament agrees a comprehensive exit deal.

The UK was previously scheduled to exit the EU on 12 April, and would have crashed out of the EU ETS on this date if it departed without a comprehensive deal.

The UK government also confirmed today that it will not implement a temporary carbon tax on 15 April — its previous plan in the event of the UK ceasing to participate in the carbon market on 12 April.

In a no-deal Brexit scenario, UK firms will not be required to surrender EU ETS allowances to cover emissions beyond the 2018 calendar year. In this scenario, the government had planned to replace the EU ETS with a temporary carbon tax, set at £16/t of CO2. UK emitters would pay this on top of the UK's existing £18/t CO2 carbon price support levy.

"Further information on the implications of the extension for carbon pricing will be set out in due course," the government said.