The European Parliament's industry committee failed to agree on a recommendation for a draft measure to curb a glut of carbon permits. The panel, which has an advisory role in the legislative process, rejected a report on a mechanism to withhold surplus allowances. Earlier, committee members backed the start of the market overhaul in 2021, as envisaged by the European Commission, while a rival proposal for it beginning in 2017 was rejected. The 28-nation EU is seeking to strengthen its cap-and-trade emissions program after the price of permits plunged almost 70 percent since 2008 to levels that fail to deter industry from burning coal, the most polluting fossil fuel. The measure debated by lawmakers introduces a market stability reserve, or a tool to automatically adjust the permits in circulation.
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