UK wins EU emissions challenge
The European Court of Justice has overturned a decision blocking Britain from reviewing EU emission trading allowances.
In yesterday’s ruling, the court said the European Commission was not entitled to restrict a member state’s right to propose amendments to trading allowances.
As part of its greenhouse gas emissions policy, the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) set a provisional total in its national allocation plan (NAP) of 736 million tonnes of carbon dioxide allowances in April 2004.
But after re-assessing output in view of the EU’s emissions trading scheme, which sets emission quotas to companies, Britain relaxed its NAP to 756 million tonnes between 2005 and 2008 and submitted the amended total to the commission in November last year.
The commission said the 20 million tonne increase was inadmissible and would have disrupted the emissions trading market.
However, in a written decision, the court said restricting a sovereign member state was contrary to the commission’s own rules.
“Such a restriction would deprive the public consultation prescribed by the directive of its effectiveness,” the council said.
The EU commission has two months to appeal against the decision.
A spokeswoman for Stavros Dimas, EU environment commissioner, said: “We will now examine the new British plan, see whether we can accept it, seek amendments or need to reject it.”
Environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth (FoE) criticised the government for falling further behind its targets for tackling climate change.
Director Tony Juniper said Britain’s global warming strategy was “in tatters”, and rebuked Tony Blair for siding with powerful industry lobbies.
“Ministers should be finding ways to cut carbon dioxide levels rather than mounting legal challenges to increase them,” he said.
