Training materials

Commission launches consultation on CO2 markets and infrastructure legislation

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on upcoming legislation covering carbon dioxide markets and infrastructure in the EU. The consultation will inform a Commission initiative planned for 2026 aimed at developing competitive markets and transportation infrastructure for CO2 as part of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The consultation builds on the 2040 Climate Target Communication and Industrial Carbon Management Strategy, recognising the role of carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) in reducing emissions from hard-to-abate sectors. The consultation is open until 9 January 2026.

DESNZ publishes policy statement on hydrogen infrastructure strategic planning

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published a policy statement outlining the government’s approach to how the National Energy System Operator (NESO) is envisaged to carry out strategic planning for hydrogen infrastructure. The statement clarifies government policy aims for NESO as it develops its hydrogen strategic planning capabilities, including NESO’s activities in delivering hydrogen strategic planning, how the government will consider NESO’s outputs and NESO’s development of other relevant hydrogen-related products. It follows the December 2023 Hydrogen Transport and Storage Networks Pathway, which confirmed that NESO would lead strategic network planning for hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure, with the government acting as interim strategic planner. The statement also explains how DESNZ will consider NESO’s hydrogen strategic planning when developing policy in relation to its hydrogen business models. While NESO will produce the first tangible outputs of its hydrogen strategic planning role in 2026, DESNZ will continue to have an ongoing role in the process as the decision maker for awarding business model support to hydrogen infrastructure projects.

Defra consults on NIA application for justification of Rolls-Royce small modular reactor

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a consultation seeking views on an application from the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) for a regulatory justification decision on the Rolls-Royce small modular reactor (SMR). Justification is an early regulatory step that must be met before a new type of nuclear reactor can be deployed in the UK. The consultation invites input on: (1) whether the proposed practice constitutes a new or existing class or type of practice; (2) whether the proposed practice is a suitably defined class or type of practice for a justification decision; and (3) whether the information in the application and supplementary documents is sufficient for Defra to appropriately assess the balance of benefits and detriments of the proposed practice. The consultation closes on 1 December 2025. The Secretary of State, acting as the Justifying Authority, will consider all responses before producing a draft decision document for further public consultation. This draft will set out the Justifying Authority’s view on whether or not the Rolls-Royce SMR should be justified in the UK and, if so, propose the most appropriate definition of the class or type of practice.

Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGR)-UK government publishes Business Model documentation

Energy analysis: On 27 August 2025, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) published a package of documentation on its proposed Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGR) Business Model and related policy. The Lexis+ Energy team, in partnership with Navraj Singh Ghaleigh, Senior Lecturer in Climate Law, University of Edinburgh Law School, highlight the background to the GGR Business Model; how it interacts with the Power BECCS Business Model; the technologies which the GGR Business Model seeks to cover; its legal basis and key features; and its interface with the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). We also consider the potential implications of the proposed GGR Business Model for market players and highlight some key next steps.