Member states agree on carbon trading rules
Permits to be sold through a common auctioning system. But countries will have the right to opt out.
National governments have unanimously agreed on new rules for Europe’s carbon trading system from 2013.
A committee of government experts yesterday (14 July) agreed on the rules governing the auctioning of pollution permits under the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS).
When the next phase of the ETS starts in 2013, CO2-emitting industries will have to buy (on average) around half of their pollution permits (allowances), instead of receiving them for free. Yesterday’s vote means these permits can be sold through a common European auctioning system. However, countries will have the right to opt out and use national systems.
The European Commission had wanted one auctioning system for all 27 member states, convinced this would bolster carbon prices, minimise costs and reduce the risk of the ETS being exploited by money launderers.
But national governments, notably Germany, Poland, Spain and the UK, insisted on the right to use national systems. They had been concerned that their national systems would be “discriminated against” in comparison to the European system, which had created uncertainty about whether they would vote for the rules.
Connie Hedegaard, the European commissioner for climate action, said in a statement that although “the Commission would have preferred a single platform” she was “satisfied to see that member states have found a compromise that will provide a basis for a common auction platform”.
“Member states can opt out of this common platform provided they can meet certain criteria that ensure the proper functioning of auctions and the carbon market,” she said.
The new rules also apply to aviation companies, which are being brought into the trading scheme from 2012 and will have to buy 15% of their allowances.
The European Parliament now has three months to scrutinise the new rules. If, as expected, the Parliament does not seek any changes, they will become law after three months.
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▪ France, Germany and the UK have called for a more ambitious target to cut the EU’s greenhouse-gas emissions.
Environment ministers from the three largest member states called for a 30% cut in EU greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. In a joint article in the Financial Times, Jean-Louis Borloo, Norbert Röttgen and Chris Huhne write that the current target – a 20% reduction over the same period – is not enough to drive the move to a low-carbon economy and will leave Europe in “the global slow lane” in the race for green technologies.
A 30% target would also galvanise international action, they write. “It would be a genuine attempt to restrict the rise in global temperatures to 2º C – the key climate danger threshold – stiffening the resolve of those already proposing ambitious action and encouraging those waiting in the wings.”