Carbon emissions proposal slated
17 Jul 2015
Changes to the European Commission’s European Union (EU) Emissions Trading System (ETS) have been heavily criticised.
The new legislative proposal will come into effect after 2020 and is in line with the 2030 climate and energy policy framework and the EU strategy, the Commission said.
The policy framework is targeted at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030.
This smacks of two steps forward and one step back
Director of UK Steel Gareth Stace
EU commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete said: “Actions speak louder than words. Today we take a decisive step towards enshrining the EU’s target of at least 40% emissions cut by 2030 into law.”
To achieve the 40% EU target, the Commission has called for an increase in the pace of emissions cuts, meaning the number of emission allowances will decline at an annual rate of 2.2% from 2021 onwards, compared to 1.74% currently.
The Commission has also called for better targeted carbon leakage rules, whereby subsidies for the EU’s most polluting industries will increase – potentially being worth as much as €160 billion (£111bn).
The move is designed to stop certain companies moving their operations to countries where carbon emissions legislation is more relaxed.
However, the revision has been heavily criticised by manufacturers.
Director of UK Steel Gareth Stace said the Commission has proposed another flawed solution to the competitiveness issues the EU ETS causes for UK steel.
“This smacks of two steps forward and one step back,” Stace said.
“UK steel plants are trying to compete internationally against companies facing none of the same compliance costs.
“The ETS’s carbon leakage measures are meant to address this by ensuring the best-performing plants in the EU are given all the ETS allowances they need for free - but neither the current measures, nor the Commission’s new proposals, live up to this promise,” he added.
Stace said it is impossible to know what the exact effect on the UK steel sector could be at this stage.
“However, the Commission’s proposal has failed to address the main problem with the existing system: the arbitrary cap on the number of allowances that can be given to industry,” he said.
Meanwhile, environmental group Carbon Market Watch slated the proposal for “watering down already weak provisions in the EU ETS directive”.
Carbon Market Watch EU climate policy advisor Femke de Jong said: “After more than a decade, the EU’s main climate instrument still lacks the teeth to make the polluter pay and drive emission reductions. Today’s proposal serves the interests of Europe’s largest polluters at the expense of the climate and taxpayers’ money.”
- A feature in our upcoming issue will look at plans to secure the North East of England’s industrial future, and how much of an effect the Commission’s proposal will have.
