Ireland ordered to change plan to cut greenhouse gas
Ireland was ordered to alter its national plan for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Kyoto Protocol, the European Commission confirmed today.
The commission said Ireland’s national allocation plan for the amount of harmful emissions released during the 2008 to 2012 trading period had been accepted but changes were required.
The commission reduced the allowances under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) by almost 7% below the emissions proposed by the 10 states’ national plans for allocating carbon dioxide emission allowances to energy-intensive industrial plants for the period.
The commission sought a 6.4% decrease in Ireland’s proposed allocations as it expects transport emissions to increase more than projected. It also found Ireland had not made enough progress in its arrangements for Government purchases of allowances under the Kyoto Protocol.
Environment Minister Dick Roche said Ireland would resubmit its plan before the deadline and the issue of Government purchases would be very much advanced before that cut-off date.
“This week I will be signing the contract for a €20m investment in a Carbon Fund operated by the European bank for Reconstruction and Development. I was, in fact, debating the necessary Dáil motion to permit this at the very time the Commission decision was announced.
“I also expect to publish the Carbon Fund Bill very shortly – the Commission sees this legislation as an important indication of progress. I believe we will be able to demonstrate sufficient progress to deal with the Commission’s concerns on this issue and reach agreement on an allocation closer to what we originally proposed.”
The plans involve Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovakia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. They account for 42% of the allowances allocated in the first trading period of the EU ETS from 2005 to 2007.
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: “Today’s decisions send a strong signal that Europe is fully committed to achieving the Kyoto target and making the EU ETS a success. The Commission has assessed the plans in a consistent way to ensure equal treatment of Member States and create the necessary scarcity in the European carbon market. The same standards will be applied to the rest of the plans.”
Ireland’s national allocation plan was accepted as long as the annual allocation does not exceed 21.25 million allowances. The state had proposed a cap of 22.6 million allowances.
The reservation of allowances for new entrants to specific sectors must be eliminated and equal treatment ensured.
The overall maximum amount of Kyoto project credits which may be used by operators for compliance purposes may not exceed 21.9%.
The system aims to ensure greenhouse gas emissions from the energy and industry sectors covered are cut in a bid to meet emission commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol.
The national allocation plans limit the total amount of carbon dioxide that installations covered by the scheme can emit and set out how many emission allowances each plant will receive.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, Ireland’s target allows for a rise in emissions of no more than 13% by 2010.
The commission warned without additional measures put in place the Ireland’s emissions will rise by 29.6%.
