All commercial scale fossil fuelled electricity generating stations in Ireland are obliged to participate in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, as part of the national and EU contribution to meeting greenhouse gas emissions obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.
My colleague the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has overall responsibility for the management of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme in Ireland. Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for operating and monitoring the scheme here with participants being legally obliged to report their emissions levels on an annual basis to the EPA.
Under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, installations are granted a certain level of allowances and are required to either mitigate their emissions or purchase allowances for any emissions above the level of allowances. Accordingly, it is a matter for the individual electricity generating stations to decide on the most cost effective mix of abatement measures for their business.
The Government has already decided, in the context of the preparation of Ireland's second National Allocation Plan under the scheme, that the emissions trading sector as a whole will be responsible for making approximately 3 million tonnes annual reductions in greenhouse gases out of the approximately 7 million tonnes per annum reductions needed to enable Ireland to meet its Kyoto target over the period 2008 to 2012, after existing abatement measures have been taken into account. Research work being carried out by the GSI and others is also examining the potential future location of underground storage of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel power plants.