(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order establishes a new emissions trading scheme covering greenhouse gas emissions from power and heat generation, energy intensive industries and aviation. The scheme will be called the UK Emissions Trading Scheme or UK ETS (see article 16). It is the successor, in the UK, to the EU Emissions Trading System (established by Directive 2003/87/EC).

Part 1 contains definitions that are used throughout the Order, including key concepts such as the "trading period" (1 January 2021 to 31 December 2030 - see article 4) the activities covered by the scheme ("regulated activity", defined in article 4 and Schedule 2, and "aviation activity", defined in article 4 and Schedule 1), the different greenhouse gases covered by the scheme (see article 4 and Schedule 2 for installations and the definition of "aviation emissions" for aircraft), the participants in the scheme ("operators" of installations, defined in article 5, and "aircraft operators", defined in articles 6 to 8) and who the scheme's "regulator" is for different purposes (articles 9 to 13). Article 15 introduces Schedule 3 which contains provision about applications, notices, etc.