S.L. 643.3 Art. 2Interpretation.

For the purposes of these regulations and unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall apply:

"account holder" means a natural or legal person that holds an account in the Union registry;

"aerodrome" means a defined area on land or water, including buildings, installations and equipment, intended to be used either wholly or in part for the arrival, departure and surface movement of aircraft;

"aircraft operator" means the person who operates an aircraft at the time it performs an aviation activity listed in Schedule 1 or Schedule 1A, or where that person is not known or is not identified by the owner of the aircraft, the owner of the aircraft;

"air service" means a flight or a series of flights carrying passengers, cargo and, or, mail for remuneration and, or, hire as defined in Article 2(4) of Regulation (EC) No. 1008/2008; "allowance" means an allowance to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent during a specified period, which shall be valid only for the purposes of meeting the requirements of these regulations and shall be transferable in accordance with the provisions of these regulations; "auctioneer" means the Debt Management Office within the Treasury Department appointed by the Government to auction allowances on its behalf; "authorised representatives" means the representatives, nominated by an account holder in respect of an account in the Union registry, to have access to that account and undertake processes relating to that account on behalf of the account holder; "the Authority" means the Malta Resources Authority established by article 3 of the Malta Resources Authority Act; "aviation emissions" or "emissions" means the release of greenhouse gases from an aircraft performing an aviation activity listed in Schedule 1 and, or Schedule 1A, as specified in respect of that activity;

"base year" means, for the purposes of regulation 3(b), in relation to an aircraft operator which started operating in the Union st after 1 January 2006, the first calendar year of operation, and in st all other cases, the calendar year starting on 1 January 2006; "cancellation" means the definitive disposal of an allowance by its holder or by the national registry administrator as may be applicable;

"certified emission reduction" or "CER" means a unit issued pursuant to Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol and the decisions adopted pursuant to the UNFCCC or the Kyoto Protocol; "Chapter II allowance" means an allowance allocated and issued in respect of aviation activities listed in Annex I to Directive 2003/ 87/EC, in accordance with Chapter II of Directive 2003/87/EC; "Chapter III allowance" means an allowance allocated and issued in respect of activities listed in Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC other than aviation activities, in accordance with Chapter III of Directive 2003/87/EC; "commercial air transport operator" means an operator that, for remuneration, provides scheduled or non-scheduled air transport services to the public for the carriage of passengers, freight or mail; "the Commission" means the European Commission; "confidential information" means any non-public information deemed to be sensitive by the operator and, or any privileged information falling within the scope of regulation 16, shared only for promoting and elaborating certain purposes. It shall include inter alia:

(a) trade secrets;

(b) any other information having a commercial value that would be, or could reasonably be expected to be, destroyed or diminished if the information were disclosed; or

(c) information other than trade secrets or information under paragraph (b) concerning a person, organisation or undertaking in respect of their business, professional, commercial or financial affairs; "CORSIA" means the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation;

"Decision (EU) 2015/1814" means Decision (EU) 2015/1814 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 October 2015 concerning the establishment and operation of a market stability reserve for the Union greenhouse gas emission trading scheme and amending Directive 2003/87/EC;

"deviation" means, in respect of monitoring of tonne-kilometre data and annual emissions, the use of a monitoring approach that is different, in full or in part, from the approved monitoring and reporting plan, which use is of a temporary nature; "Directive 2003/87/EC" means Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Union and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC; "Directive 2004/101/EC" means Directive 2004/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 amending Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community, in respect of the Kyoto Protocol’s project mechanisms; "Directive 2008/101/EC" means Directive 2008/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community; "Directive 2009/29/EC" means Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Community;

"Directive (EU) 2018/410" means Directive (EU) 2018/410 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2018 amending Directive 2003/87/EC to enhance cost-effective emission reductions and low-carbon investments, and Decision (EU) 2015/1814; "Directive (EU) 2023/958" means Directive (EU) 2023/958 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 amending Directive 2003/87/EC as regards aviation’s contribution to the Union’s economy-wide emission reduction target and the appropriate implementation of a global market-based measure; "emissions reduction unit" or "ERU" means a unit issued pursuant to Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol and the decisions adopted pursuant to the UNFCCC or the Kyoto Protocol; "EU ETS" means the European Union Emissions Trading System established by Directive 2003/87/EC; "Eurocontrol" means the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation; "European Economic Area" means the area composed of the State parties to the agreement on the European Economic Area signed in Oporto on the 2nd May, 1992, and the Protocol adjusting that th agreement, signed in Brussels on 17 March, 1993; "flight" means one flight sector that is a flight or one of a series of flights which commences at a parking place of the aircraft and terminates at a parking place of the aircraft; "greenhouse gases" means the gases listed in Schedule 2 and other gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and re-emit infrared radiation;

"ICAO" means the International Civil Aviation Organisation; "Joint Implementation project activity" or "JI project activity" means a project activity undertaken in accordance with Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol and decisions adopted pursuant to the UNFCCC or the Kyoto Protocol; "Kyoto Protocol" means the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC;

"Least Developed Countries" means those countries included in the list of Least Developed Countries as defined by the Committee for Development Policy and endorsed by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations; "Member State" means a state which is a member of the European Union and shall also include Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway;

"the Minister" means the Minister responsible for climate change policy;

"modification" means, in respect of monitoring of tonne-kilometre data and annual emissions, a permanent change in an approved monitoring plan, in full or in part, and, where deemed to be of a significant nature, shall require the approval of the Authority before it shall become valid;

"National Accreditation Board (Malta)" means the National Accreditation Board (Malta) established by the National Accreditation Board (Malta) (Establishment) Regulations; "national registry administrator" means the entity, designated in accordance with relevant decisions and regulations adopted by the Commission pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC, being responsible for the management, on behalf of the Government, of aircraft operator holding accounts under the jurisdiction of the Government in the Union registry; "non-CO aviation effects" means the effects on the climate of the 2 release, during fuel combustion, of oxides of nitrogen (NO ), soot x particles, oxidised sulphur species, and effects from water vapour, including contrails, from an aircraft performing an aviation activity listed in Schedule I;

"operating license" means an authorization granted by a relevant competent licencing authority to an undertaking, permitting it to provide air services as stated in the operating licence; "other accounting units" means units other than allowances, and including CERs and ERUs, which may be used by aircraft operators for the purpose of meeting obligations under these regulations in accordance with these regulations and relevant decisions and regulations adopted by the Commission pursuant to Directive 2003/ 87/EC; "other relevant legal bodies" means any other entities, public or private which, by virtue of the provisions found in these regulations are obliged to act, provide information, direct or re-direct any action or actions, or inform or report to any other indicated body. This shall also include any other specified bodies or persons to which these regulations may apply;

"Paris Agreement" means the Paris Agreement which is an international treaty on climate change which entered into force on 4th November 2016; "person" means any natural or legal person;

"the public" means one or more persons and associations, organisations or groups of persons;

"Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008" means Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No. 339/93;

"Regulation (EC) No. 1008/2008" means Regulation (EC) No. 1008/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 2008 on common rules for the operation of air services in the Community (Recast); "Regulation (EC) No. 748/2009" means Commission Regulation

(EC) No 748/2009 of 5 August 2009 on the list of aircraft operators which performed an aviation activity listed in Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC on or after 1 January 2006 specifying the administering Member State for each aircraft operator; "Regulation (EU) No. 421/2014" means Regulation (EU) No 421/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 amending Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community, in view of the implementation by 2020 of an international agreement applying a single global market-based measure to international aviation emissions; "Regulation (EU) 2017/2392" means Regulation (EU) 2017/2392 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2017 amending Directive 2003/87/EC to continue current limitations of scope for aviation activities and to prepare to implement a global market-based measure from 2021; "surrender" means the accounting of an allowance by an aircraft operator against verified emissions; "tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent" means one metric tonne of carbon dioxide (CO ) or an amount of any other greenhouse gas listed 2 in Schedule 2 with an equivalent global-warming potential; "Union" and "European Union" shall have the same meaning of "the European Union" as in the European Union Act;

"Union registry" means the registry established and maintained in accordance with Article 19 of Directive 2003/87/EC for the execution of processes pertaining to the maintenance of holding accounts and the allocation, surrender and cancellation of allowances;

"UNFCCC" means the United Nations Framework Convention st on Climate Change which entered into force on 21 March, 1994; "verifier" means a legal person or another legal entity carrying out verification activities pursuant to these regulations and accredited by a national accreditation body pursuant to Regulation

(EC) No 765/2008 and relevant decisions and regulations adopted by the Commission pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC, or natural person otherwise authorised, without prejudice to Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) 765/2008, at the time a verification report is issued.