Estonia's goals in reducing greenhouse gases (GHGS) are based on the EU climate and energy policy. The EU has set a goal of reducing GHG emissions by 20% by 2020, compared with the emissions level of 1990. The reduction of emissions will be achieved by combining two mechanisms - the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and national targets for sectors outside the trading system. In 2013, the EU emissions trading system was launched on a new and uniform basis, which means that auctions are the default means for emission allowance trading and operators are allocated free emission allowances (EAS) based on a harmonised approach. The EU has also set the goal of reducing emissions by 21% compared to the 2005 emissions level by the year 2020.