Impact of the European Union Emissions Trading System on Sustainable Development of Latvia's Agriculture

Latvia has been included in the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) since 2005. Participants of the EU ETS are companies operating in certain economic sectors - mainly, power sector or industry sector but some also in other sectors. The aim of this paper is to analyse general impact of the EU ETS on sustainable development of Latvia's agriculture. At the beginning of this paper, the author has described the concept of sustainable development as well as outlined general requirements of the EU ETS from the perspective of agriculture. Further, the author has identified whether some of the participants of the EU ETS that are registered in Latvia are agricultural companies and analysed the general impact of the EU ETS on their operation. The author has concluded that although the EU ETS does not have a significant impact on Latvia's agriculture, in some particular situations the EU ETS might have contributed towards the sustainable development of Latvia's agricultural companies or at least created possibilities for such contribution.