Legal acts and references
This section lists legal acts that in one way or another are mentioned on our pages about emissions trading.
The EU's emissions trading system is regulated by EU legal acts. The EU can adopt different types of legal acts to achieve the goals that are set jointly within the Union. Some are binding, others are not. Some apply to all EU countries, others only to a few.
The different types of legal acts are regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions.
- A regulation is a binding legal act that applies directly in every member state, and no new national laws need to be enacted. However, national legislation may need to be adapted due to the content of the regulation.
- A directive sets goals that member states must achieve, but they are free to decide how to do this and may need to be converted into national legislation.
- A decision is binding for those to whom the decision is directed. It is directly applicable without national legislation.
- A recommendation allows the EU institutions to express opinions and propose measures that are not legally binding.
- An opinion is a statement by the institutions that does not impose any legal obligations on its recipients.
