EU's Dimas Says States Allocated too Much CO2 in '05
Date: 22-May-06
Country: AUSTRIA
Author: Jeff Mason
Recent data has shown that most countries involved in the EU emissions trading scheme used fewer CO2 permits for 2005 than they were given, leading to a dive in carbon prices.
"The problem that we found out a few days ago was that member states have allocated more than the actual emissions (in 2005)," Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told reporters.
He said businesses may have overestimated their expected growth prospects and asked governments for more emissions allowances as a result.
"The governments listened to the businesses and they submitted allowances which were more actually than needed."
Dimas said the states should take current figures into account when preparing national allocation plans for the 2008-2012 trading period.
"It's quite important that member states will cooperate and they will prepare the national allocation plans carefully, taking into account both these actual emissions in 2005 and our need to achieve the Kyoto Protocol (targets)," he said.
"They should make the right cuts."
He said proposals by Germany and France to change the scheme would have to be discussed.
Dimas said higher carbon prices created more of a need for companies to make investments to cut pollution, but that a price level of 15 euros per tonne would still achieve that goal.
"Even at 15 euros there is an incentive for making investments."
He also said the United States, India and China were open to talks about a global emissions trading system.
"In my own discussions with officials from the United States but also developing countries like China and India -- I met them in New York -- there is willingness to go ahead with discussions on sort of a global emissions trading system, which means cap and trade," he said.
"The importance of the European emissions trading system is more underlined by this."
Dimas was speaking at a meeting of EU environment ministers in Austria.