Czech Republic and Spain conclude an agreement on the sale of 5 million Kyoto Units

Press release: 14.10.2009

The Czech Republic acting through the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Environment, and Rural and Marine Affairs of Spain have signed a contract for the transfer of five million Kyoto Units, linked to a Green Investment Scheme. The Agreement has been signed by Minister Ladislav Miko and Secretary of State for Climate Change Teresa Ribera Rodriguez.

The Czech Republic acting trough the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Environment, and Rural and Marine Affairs of Spain have signed an Assigned Amount Unit Purchase Agreement (AAUPA) for the sale and purchase of five million Assigned Amount Units (AAUs), based on Article 17th of the Kyoto Protocol which allows Parties included in Annex B of the Protocol to participate in international emissions trading for the purpose of fulfilling their commitments under Article 3.

The sale-purchase has been done on the basis of a so-called Green Investment Scheme, a mechanism through which proceeds from the sale of AAUs are invested by Czech Republic in the activities which ensure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions’ reductions. The scope of the greening activities which can be financed from this particular transaction is as follows:
(1) Promotion of energy savings in the residential sector;
(2) Promotion of heat production from renewable energy sources in the residential sector;
(3) Promotion of new construction in passive energy standard in the residential sector.

The total amount of Czech’s AAUs available for the sale is 100 million (including those already sold) and the contract with Spain is its fourth signed AAUPA (at beginning of 2009 Czech Republic signed contracts with the NEDO and at the beginning of autumn 2009 with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Austria). The decision to participate in the International Emissions Trading was made in 2007 and general framework law for Czech’s Green Investment Scheme was adopted in 2008.

For Spain this is the third transaction of this kind, after the contract signed last year with Hungary and in September 2008 with Latvia, and is part of its efforts to develop International Emissions Trading as a complementary flexible mechanism suited to help Annex-I countries to achieve their compliance objectives.

Jakub Kaspar, Spokesperson of the MoE