UK Wants Transport Included in EU CO2 Trade Scheme
Date: 01-Mar-06
Country: DENMARK
Britain has backed existing moves to bring aircraft into the scheme but Environment Minister Elliott Morley said the UK wanted further expansion to include land-based transport - one of the biggest polluters.
"Transport emissions are a big challenge, " Morley told a carbon markets conference. "There is no reason why the Emissions Trading Scheme should not be expanded to include surface transport emissions."
The emissions trading scheme was launched just over a year ago as the mainstay of the bloc's effort to meet its Kyoto Protocol goals.
The scheme imposes carbon dioxide emissions limits on about 12,000 factories and power stations but does not currently cover aircraft or other forms of transport.
EU government and major airlines including British Airways have backed the inclusion of aircraft in the scheme though discussions on expanding to the wider transport industry are at an early stage.
The European Commission, the trading system's administrator, is conducting a review of the scheme which could include expansion to other sectors.
But Commission official Olivia Hartridge said it was unlikely any big changes such as the inclusion of more industries would be possible until at least 2010.
Morley said the UK was also open to the idea of extending the scheme beyond CO2 to include other greenhouse gas emissions.
"We have an open mind on extending the trading scheme to other (greenhouse) gases," he said.
"I think we are prepared to explore this, there is a logic to extending to other gases in due course," he said.
Morley also signalled the UK was willing to look at introducing auction of CO2 allowances traded under the scheme. Under existing arrangements allowances are handed out free to industries covered by the scheme.
Critics argue that this hands the power industry a windfall as utilities pass the cost of allowances to consumers, sending power prices soaring.
Power stations are the biggest polluters covered by the scheme.
"There is a good deal of potential to explore the idea of auctioning in phase two (of the scheme 20089-2012)," said Morley