Legal nature of CO2 emission costs in the EU ETS and their indirect impact on livestock farms operating an agricultural biogas plant
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26485/SPE/2026/138/5Keywords:
EU ETS, CO2, emission costs, regulatory cost, livestock farms, agricultural biogas installations, environmental lawAbstract
Background: The research subject is the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) as an instrument of the European Union’s climate policy, as well as the legal and economic nature of CO2 emission costs within this system, with particular emphasis on their indirect impact on livestock farms using or integrated with agricultural biogas installations.
Research purpose: The objective of the article is, first, to provide a dogmatic (doctrinal) legal classification of CO2 emission costs in the EU ETS as a tax, a fee, or a distinct regulatory cost and, second, to assess the extent to which an agricultural biogas installation may reduce a livestock farm’s exposure to indirect burdens resulting from the operation of the EU ETS.
Methods: The article employs the doctrinal legal method, consisting in the analysis of European Union legal provisions governing the EU ETS in light of their interpretation in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, supplemented by a functional and contextual legal analysis (law-in-context approach) based on European Commission documents and specialist literature on emission costs and agricultural biogas installations.
Conclusions: The analysis leads to the conclusion that CO2 emission costs in the EU ETS do not constitute a tax or a fee within the meaning of public law, but rather represent a distinct regulatory cost associated with participation in the emission reduction mechanism. It is further demonstrated that livestock farms are affected by the system indirectly – primarily through increases in the prices of energy, fuels, and fertilisers – whereas agricultural biogas installations may function as an adaptive economic mechanism, reducing cost-related risks and enhancing the economic resilience of the farm
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