© Jean Schweitzer www.energypicturesonline.com

© Jean Schweitzer www.energypicturesonline.com

Air protection and preventing climate change, emissions trading and an integrated prevention system are areas that SEVEn has been involved in for many years and it gives them the due attention. We have been actively engaged in national and international projects in this direction and we try and use the experiences we have gained to the benefit of our customers.

The majority of the currently used tools contribute to reducing pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions. These include both legislatively set norms and economic instruments. Promotional, information and education instruments also have an important role to play.

Air protection in the Czech Republic

Among the most important normative instruments SEVEn works with are:

• Emission limits, emission ceilings and plans to reduce emissions pursuant to Act No. 86/2002 Coll., on Air Protection 
• Issuing integrated permits for building sources pursuant to Act No.  76/2002 on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control.

Further, at the regional and district level, there are programmes for reducing the emission of pollutants and programmes for improving air quality pursuant to Act No. 86/2002 Coll., on Air Protection.
SEVEn analyses the effect of economic instruments, of which emission charges are one. These are used for large and medium stationary sources, which pay for pollutant emissions that exceed the emission limit. In the case of small sources there is an annual charge for operating it and this includes combustion sources and those emitting solid pollutants and volatile organic substances.

Preventing climate change

SEVEn supports the development of trading with greenhouse gas emissions, which will become a new source for financing energy saving projects and using renewable energy sources. Currently emissions trading is in its infancy but over the course of the next decade it could achieve an annual turnover of several milliard USD.
Emission trading can be done in several ways. From the standpoint of someone investing into the Czech Republic two mechanisms are presently the most interesting those being joint implementation and the planned emissions permit trading at the EU level from 2005.