INTERVIEW - Spain Likely to Tighten CO2 Emissions in 2008-12
Date: 08-May-06
Country: SPAIN
Author: Julia Hayley
European Union countries have placed limits on highly polluting industries' output of CO2 and other greenhouse gases to force them to clean up as a key part of the first phase of the Kyoto protocol to curb global warming.
National governments are now preparing their emissions allocation plans for the second phase, which runs from 2008-12.
"The European Commission has made it clear that we should reduce allocations compared with the first plan," Arturo Gonzalo Aizpiri, Spain's secretary general for the prevention of contamination and climate change, told Reuters.
Asked if that meant Spain would reduce allocations for industry, he said:
"It would be reasonable to think we will."
Companies that overshoot their quotas have to buy carbon credits in the European Climate Exchange to make up the difference.
Spain last week published almost definitive results for 2005, the first year of emissions limits. With 99.8 percent of allocations accounted for, industries had emitted 182.8 million tonnes of CO2 compared with their allocation of 172.25 million tonnes.
The excess emissions were almost entirely from coal-fired power plants. Electricity companies generated less power than normal from hydroelectric plants because of a severe drought and several nuclear plants were stopped for maintenance.
"Under normal conditions the difference would be less ... I think the results of the first year are very hopeful," Gonzalo Aizpiri said. "They show the plan is correct and companies have received the allocations they need."
TRANSPORT, HOUSEHOLD EMISSIONS SURGED
The overshoot is far more serious in non-industrial parts of the Spanish economy for which the government has an overall target but which are far more difficult to control.
Spain's overall emissions last year, including transport, household and services, look like being at least 50 percent above the base year 1990. Kyoto allows Spain to raise its emissions by only 15 percent.
Gonzalo Aizpiri is confident Spain can cut the rise in emissions to 24 percent by 2010 and can cancel the excess 9 percentage points through credits gained from energy projects in other countries -- called clean development mechanism (CDM) in Kyoto terms -- and carbon "sinks" such as reforestation projects.
"I don't think 9 percent is over optimistic. Obtaining 2 percent from sinks is a conservative estimate," he said, adding that Spain aimed to gain CDM credits for 100 million tonnes of CO2 helped by a carbon fund it had set up with World Bank backing.
Spain already has commitments with other countries, mostly in Latin America, that will give it 60 million tonnes of CO2 credits.
The government's aim is to raise that to 100 million tonnes, which, if spread over the five years of the next phase of Kyoto, will provide 20 million tonnes of carbon credit a year.
"For Spain a larger quantity would be perfectly feasible," Gonzalo Aizpiri said. "The diplomatic efforts we've made have been very useful."
The clean development projects can be private or public sector and are typically wind or hydroelectric generating plants or emissions removal for waste dumps. They have to be in developing countries that are excluded from Kyoto emissions limits.
The cost of reducing emissions in Spain is some 25 euros (US$32) a tonne, compared with 5 euros in a developing country, Aizpiri said.