EU LIKELY TO LIFT IRISH CARBON CAP FRIDAY - SOURCES
07.14.07 - Leído 69 veces. Enviar esta notaJeff Mason and Darren Ennis
The European Commission will probably restore most of the carbon dioxide (CO2) allowances it has previously cut from Ireland’s plan allocating emissions rights for 2008-2012, Irish sources said on Thursday
BRUSSELS, Belgium; July 14, 2007.- The European Union executive is due to decide on amendments to five countries’ CO2 plans on Friday, including Ireland’s.
A move to restore a big chunk of Ireland’s emissions would be the first time the Commission has changed one of its tough decisions on a country’s emissions caps for 2008-2012.
In November, Brussels cut Ireland’s cap for the second phase of the Emissions Trading Scheme to an annual limit of 21.2 million tonnes, down from the 22.6 million tonnes that Dublin had proposed.
Irish sources said they expected the Commission to restore at least 1.2 million tonnes on Friday.
“Based on what the Commission have told us, expectations of our officials are that we will get back close to all of the original figure, certainly the 1.2 million,” one of the Irish sources told Reuters.
“It looks like we will get most of the figure back, if not all,” another source said.
A spokeswoman for the Commission declined to comment.
The Commission originally reduced Ireland’s allocation due to concerns about its intention to buy a large amount of carbon credits, for 1.2 million tonnes, and doubts over figures it gave related to transport emissions amounting to 300,000 tonnes.
However, the Irish government has since issued a new national environmental plan.
Brussels has been tough in determining caps for the second phase of the ETS in an effort to shore up the scheme after 2005 data showed governments had given industry too many permits in the first round, leading to a carbon price crash.
The emissions trading scheme sets limits on the amount of CO2 companies can emit. Those that exceed their caps must buy allowances on a market while those that come in beneath their limits can sell the credits they have saved.
The EU executive said earlier on Thursday it would announce its decision on possible changes to plans previously submitted by Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Sweden as well as Ireland.
It will also say whether it accepts or rejects Cyprus’ CO2 allocation plan for the 2008-2012 period.
Cyprus makes up only a small part of the EU’s emissions trading scheme, the 27-nation bloc’s key instrument to fight global warming and meet commitments to reduce emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
The decisions will be announced on Friday at 5.00 p.m. in Brussels (1500 GMT).
Estonia on Thursday decided to launch a legal challenge in the European Court of First Instance to the Commission’s rejection of its CO2 emissions plan.
Similar court cases have been initiated by Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.
(Reuters)
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