The State Energy Efficiency Agency and the Ministry of Energy have prepared 2 draft laws designed to exempt companies that burn biofuels from paying taxes on CO2 emissions.
This will remove one of the barriers in attracting investors to the installation of boiler houses and cogeneration plants on biofuel, and will also contribute to bringing Ukrainian legislation in line with European legislation, the State Energy Efficiency Agency reports on Facebook.
These are draft laws "On amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine regarding the establishment of a zero tax rate for CO2 emissions for installations that produce such emissions as a result of burning biofuel" and "On amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Alternative Fuels" regarding the creation of a Register of installations that use biofuel as the only type of fuel".
The main provisions of the draft laws provide for:
- exemption from payment of tax on CO2 emissions for burning biofuel;
- creating a Register of installations using biofuel as the only type of fuel to ensure the administration of the zero CO2 tax rate.
Currently, biofuel energy producers in Ukraine pay taxes for carbon emissions on the same level as other enterprises (Article 240 of the Tax Code). However, this does not correspond to world practice, because according to the provisions of Annex IV to Directive 2003/87/EC, the coefficient of greenhouse gas emissions for biomass is zero.
The Clean Development Mechanism methodology of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change assumes that carbon emissions from biomass burning are not taken into account because biofuels are considered carbon-neutral fuels. When biomass is burned, as much carbon is produced as the plant absorbs during growth.
The material explained that the draft laws will create favorable conditions for the substitution of gas consumption, the use of local fuels for the generation of thermal energy, which is 10% cheaper for the population and budget institutions, the creation of bioenergy clusters and new jobs in adjacent markets.
Proposals for documents can be sent within a month to an email address zhde@saee.gov.ua .
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that National Commission for State Regulation in the Spheres of Energy and Utilities adopted the resolution "On Amendments to the Code of the Gas Transport System and the Code of Gas Distribution Systems", which will allow supply biomethane to the network.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, The Ministry of Environment published the draft law about amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On environmental impact assessment", to receive comments and suggestions for conducting consultations with the public.
