In order to fulfill Germany's emission reduction commitments in the so-called "non-ETS" (non-Emission Trading System) sectors, i.e., those sectors not covered by the EU ETS, climate protection targets were legally established for the first time in Germany with the Climate Protection Act, which entered into force on December 18, 2019. The Fuel Emissions Trading Act (BEHG) represented a key building block for achieving these targets. The BEHG, which entered into force on December 20, 2019, forms the legal basis for the national emissions trading system (nEHS) for fuels, which has been in force in Germany since January 1, 2021.

The nEHS is a cross-sectoral CO2 pricing system. Since January 2021, all CO2 emissions generated by the combustion of fossil fuels have been covered. The nEHS covers CO2 emissions from road and rail transport as well as CO2 emissions from heat generation in the building sector and from smaller energy and industrial installations outside the EU ETS. This means that it covers precisely those sectors that generate the majority of CO2 emissions outside the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).