DRAFT LEGISLATION: The Renewable Transport Fuels and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulations 2018

In a week of various regulatory and guidance documents on the subject of renewable transport fuels & Greenhouse gas emissions following on from a post early this week (Motor Fuel Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Guidance), a new amendment Regulation has been prepared.

The draft Regulations have been laid before Parliament under sections 124(5) and 192(3) of the Energy Act 2004, section 2(8) of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999, and paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 2 to the European Communities Act 1972, for approval by resolution of each House of Parliament. It is anticipated that the Regulations will come into force on Sunday, 15 April 2018.

The key changes and provisions are summarised as follows.

1. Part 2 contains consequential amendments to section 132 of the Energy Act 2004 (c.20).
2. Part 3 amends the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/3072), “the RTFO Order”) covering various amendments in relation to:
   1. amend the definitions used in the RTFO Order including, in particular, the creation of a new definition for “development fuel” (Regulations 7 and 8),
   2. amend certain transport fuel suppliers’ obligations in relation to the production of evidence to show that certain amounts and types of renewable transport fuel have been supplied in the United Kingdom during a particular period; they also amend the way that amounts of fuel are calculated (Regulations 9 and 10),
   3. make provision that requires that Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates (“RTFC”) must specify, of 3 categories, the particular type of fuel to which the RTFC relates. Regulation 19 makes provision for the award of an additional RTFC for a volume of fuel in certain circumstances (Regulation 18),
   4. substitute the provision as to the redemption of RTFCs by suppliers in later obligation periods (Regulation 20),
   5. amend the provision as to the calculation of the payment that is required if a supplier fails to meet its main renewable transport fuel obligation or its development fuel target or both (Regulation 22),
   6. set out the maximum amount of renewable transport fuel derived from relevant crops which may count towards suppliers meeting their obligations in a particular period (Regulation 23).
3. Part 4 amends the Motor Fuel (Road Vehicle and Mobile Machinery) Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/3030) to make various amendments in relation to:
   1. definitions (Regulations 29 and 30),
   2. insert the provision for certain suppliers to incur an obligation to produce evidence that they have reduced or offset amounts of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions where they have supplied, in a particular period, energy products with GHG emissions per unit of energy above a specified threshold (Regulation 34),
   3. substitute the provision as to the evidence or information that must be provided by certain suppliers and applicants for GHG credits (Regulation 40),
   4. insert further details about the evidence or information required (Regulation 50),
   5. insert various new provisions in relation to GHG credits, in particular as to the calculation of the number of credits that may be issued to a supplier, applications for credits, the issue of credits, transfers of credits, revocation of credits and the payment that must be made in certain circumstances if a supplier fails to discharge a GHG reduction obligation (Regulation 45), and;
   6. amend the provision as to penalties if certain provisions are contravened (Regulation 47).
4. Pursuant to section 7(8) of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 (c.24), the amendments set out in Part 4 extend to Northern Ireland.

A copy of the draft the Renewable Transport Fuels and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulations 2018 can be freely downloaded here.