Italy Cuts Free CO2 Emissions Limit Under New NAP
Date: 04-Dec-06
Country: ITALY
After lengthy debates which followed the earlier draft announced in October, the environment and economic development ministries have agreed to trim the free quota, but total CO2 emissions cap, including the paid quota, was raised to 209 million tonnes from 206 million tonnes, the spokesman said.
Funds raised from the increased paid quota would be used to reduce CO2 emissions, the environment ministry spokesman said.
"Now Italy can present to Brussels a plan which would allow (the European Commission) to stop the infringement procedure recently opened against our country for an accumulated delay (with submitting the plan)," Environment Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio said in a statement.
On Wednesday, Brussels said it had cut by almost 7 percent the allowance amount that 10 EU countries, not including Italy, had proposed for the bloc's emission trading scheme (ETS).
"The agreement foresees a total reduction of the allowances in line with what the Commission has implemented regarding the plans presented by the 10 countries," Pecoraro Scanio said.
The spokesman could not say when the new NAP -- covering the second stage of European Union's efforts to fight global warming by cutting CO2 emissions -- would be sent to Brussels.
The Italian ministries said in the joint statement the fuel-fired electricity sector was assigned a 116.5 million tonnes total annual quota, while the remaining 92.5 million tonnes were allocated to other sectors covered by EU's ETS.
Under Italy's 2005-2007 NAP, covering the first stage of emission trading scheme, the country's smokestack industries were assigned a 224 million tonne free emission quota.