UK Emissions Trading Scheme scope expansion: waste
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
Update on the UK ETS scope expansion to waste (August 2026)
In the 2024 UK ETS expansion to waste consultation, the UK ETS Authority set out an intention to expand the UK ETS to waste incineration from 1 January 2028.
We are aware that a lack of certainty regarding expansion of the UK ETS to waste incineration is undermining the ability of local authorities and industry to plan and budget for the future. We can confirm that expansion of the UK ETS to waste incineration will not take place in 2028 as originally intended. A new timeline will be set out in due course, along with full details on final policy design, with sufficient time for the waste sector to implement.
As set out in the interim response to the consultation, the EU ETS will apply in Northern Ireland under the terms of Article 9 and Annex 4 to the Windsor Framework (formerly the Northern Ireland Protocol) in respect of energy from waste installations.
In this interim Authority response, we set out detail for the monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) only period. This includes the following decisions:
- the MRV-only period will commence from 1 January 2026. This is a valuable opportunity for operators and their customers to better understand participation in the scheme and to input into further policy development by the Authority ahead of the inclusion of the waste sector in the UK ETS
- at this stage, participation in the MRV-only period will be voluntary. We encourage all operators to participate in the period in order to support their understanding of the scheme, their customer’s understanding of potential costs and to inform further ETS policy development. Participants will have full access to regulator support in the run up to and during the voluntary MRV-only period without incurring onboarding or regulator upkeep costs
- the voluntary MRV-only period will apply to combustion and process emissions from EfW and waste incineration processes
- for the purposes of the voluntary MRV-only period, the inclusion threshold for waste incineration will be based on the small waste incineration plant (SWIP) throughput threshold
- clinical waste incinerators and clinical waste treated at non-specialist facilities will be included in the voluntary MRV-only period. The voluntary MRV-only period will allow us to better understand the impacts of including clinical waste, and we will reassess this position ahead of the inclusion of the waste sector in the UK ETS
- high temperature incinerators that primarily process non-clinical hazardous waste will be exempt from the voluntary MRV-only period
- for monitoring emissions, we have decided to use an integrated monitoring approach, which will combine Carbon-14 and emissions factors
See the interim Authority response for the full detail of the MRV-only period.
Second government response
Due to the complexity of this work, and the desire to learn from the MRV-only period before finalising plans and proposals for cost exposure, the UK ETS Authority will publish a second response before including the sector in the full scheme. This second Authority Response will contain the full, final policy design for the sector’s inclusion in the UK ETS.
Detail of feedback received
We received over 250 responses to this consultation, from a broad range of stakeholders including:
- waste operators
- trade bodies
- local authorities
- NGOs
Original consultation
Consultation description
Update: 13 June 2024
We have extended the consultation deadline by 2 weeks to allow for further engagement with stakeholders after the election. It will now close on 2 August 2024.
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) Authority (UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland) is seeking input on a number of proposals to expand the scheme to include energy from waste and waste incineration.
The purpose of this consultation is to provide more detail and consult on the implementation of how waste incineration and energy from waste will be included in the scheme from 2026 for the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) only period, with full surrender obligations from 2028.
We would like your views on our proposed approach to expanding the scope of the UK ETS, whether the proposed policy changes are feasible in practice, and whether they will achieve our objectives. In particular, we’re proposing options and / or seeking views on:
- the scope of the scheme, including which activities are covered, thresholds for inclusion and exemptions
- participating in the scheme, including requirements for operators, monitoring, reporting and verification, and guidance
- impacts of the scheme and risks, including diversion of waste to landfill and waste export, decarbonisation pathways for customers, cost pass through to customers and equality considerations
- how to adjust the UK ETS cap for waste
- how the UK ETS could potentially incentivise investment in heat networks
Audience
This consultation is open to anyone, but we expect it to be of greatest interest to:
- waste management companies and authorities
- trade bodies
- environmental services groups
- local authorities and other customers of waste incineration facilities
- those with an interest in heat networks
- any individual or organisation that has an interest, directly or indirectly, in the expansion of the UK ETS and/or the adjustment to the cap of the scheme
Read our consultation privacy notice.
Documents
Updates to this page
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Interim Authority response published.
Update history
2026-08-26 16:40
Published an update outlining that expansion of the UK ETS to waste incineration will not take place in 2028 as originally intended. A new timeline will be set out in due course.
2025-07-21 18:16
Interim Authority response published.
2024-06-13 17:11
We have extended the consultation deadline by 2 weeks to allow for further engagement with stakeholders after the election. It will now close on 2 August 2024.
2024-05-23 07:00
First published.