Traders purchase carbon credits from VAT-free sources in other Member States and then sell them on to companies in their own Member State at a price including VAT.

The traders purchase carbon credits from other member States VAT-free sources and then sell them to businesses in their Member State at a VAT-inclusive price.

(Return tabled) Question No. 152 Ms. Kirsty Duncan: With respect to the development of unconventional gas resources, including shale, tight and coal bed methane, and its possible impacts on the environment: (a) what, if any, research has the government undertaken regarding the development of unconventional gas resources, (i) what was the scope of this research in the areas of, but not limited to, air quality, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem impacts, economic impacts, occupational risks, public safety concerns, and seismic risks, (ii) what, if any, resources did the government provide for this research, (iii) what, if any, process was established to ensure the independence of the researchers, their research, and their findings, (iv) what, ...[+++]if any, case studies were considered as a part of this research, (v) what, if any, scenarios regarding the development of unconventional gas resources were developed as frameworks for the research, (vi) what economic, environmental and social impacts were identified by this research, (vii) what, if any, priority research areas were identified for further study as a result of this research, (viii) what, if any, departments were involved in this research, (ix) what, if any, action was undertaken to ensure inter-departmental cooperation throughout the research process, (x) what, if any, gaps or weaknesses in the regulatory framework did the research identify; (b) what, if any, research has the government undertaken regarding balancing shale gas' potential contribution to energy security with environmental risks; (c) what are the sources of greenhouse gas emissions associated with unconventional gas; (d) has the government developed a process to determine the overall carbon footprint of shale gas throughout the life cycle of natural gas use, if not, why not, and, if so, (i) what federal departments are involved in this process, (ii) how does the government ensure inter-departmental collaboration on this process, (iii) what is the p ...

In calculating the greenhouse gas impact of land conversion, economic operators should be able to use actual values for the carbon stocks associated with the reference land use and the land use after conversion.

This would prevent unnecessary, burdensome research by economic operators and the conversion of high-carbon-stock land that would prove to be ineligible for producing raw materials for biofuels and bioliquids.

in general a very large number of delegations welcomed the Action Plan and acknowledged its future positive impact, particularly with regard to securing the Community supplies of renewable energy, reducing the Community's dependency on fossil energies, providing viable alternative agricultural production and rural activities for farmers, improving sustainable development and biodiversity and maintaining rural activities; several delegations insisted on the need to keep sufficiently high import tariffs to make the development of Community biomass production possible and to avoid excessive imports of renewable sources of energy such as bio ethanol; some delegations stressed the importance of using different types of bio energies, including ...[+++]bio products, bio plastics and animal by-products; some delegations expressed their concern regarding possible further certification for sustainable sources of energy, pointing out the fact that it would increase the administrative burden on operators; more specifically a few delegations, underlining the insufficient amount of money spent on renewable energy in agriculture, suggested an increase either of the current level of EUR 45/hectare for the "carbon credit" premium and/or an increase in the current maximum eligible area (1,5 million hectares);