How it works

The Australian Registry of Emissions Units is a secure online electronic system designed to accurately track the ownership of:

• emissions units issued under the Kyoto Protocol¹⁷
• Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) issued under the Emissions Reduction Fund Carbon Farming Initiative, and
• carbon units issued under the former carbon pricing mechanism.

The system supports various transactions including the issuance, holding, acquisition, transfer, surrender, buy-back, cancellation, relinquishment, retirement and carry-over of units.

Organisations or individuals are required to have Australian National Registry of Emissions Units accounts if they:

• have an emissions liability
• wish to hold (own) or transact in (transfer, cancel, relinquish or deliver) Kyoto units or ACCUs, or
• receive free carbon units (through industry assistance under the former carbon pricing mechanism).

Security

The Australian National Registry of Emissions Units operates in accordance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change requirements and data exchange standards. It meets the technical and security standards required of all national registries under the Kyoto Protocol, complying with the international emissions unit trading framework established under the protocol. It links with the international carbon market through the International Transaction Log, which is managed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat.

Personal information of Australian National Registry of Emissions Units account holders is confidential and not published.

Availability

In 2014–15 the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units was available for public access 99.99 per cent of the time (excluding scheduled maintenance).

Transactions

As at 30 June 2015, the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units had 825 accounts held by organisations and individuals. There were 1 272 users associated with those accounts. During the year, the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units supported a total of 1 820 transactions during the year.

17 The Kyoto Protocol requires each country with an emission reduction target to establish a national registry to ensure accurate accounting of the issuance, holding, transfer, acquisition, cancellation, retirement and carry-over of Kyoto units.