Latest developments from the EU

摘要

The European Commission (EC) will postpone auctioning pollution permits sold under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in a bid to stop further price falls, but has yet to decide how many allowances will be sold later, writes Keith Nuthall. ETS permit prices are already depressed as Europe's economic woes left oil and gas users with unused rights to emit carbon. As a result, European Union (EU) Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard has amended the timetable for auctioning permits under the ETS's next phase, delaying some auctions from between 2013 and 2015 until 2016 and 2020. 'The ETS has a growing surplus of allowances built up over the last few years,' said Hedegaard. But her proposals disappointed some observers by asking a Committee of EU member states to choose how many should be sold later from the option of 400, 900 or 1,200mn allowances, out of 3,500mn available permits.