EU formally rejects UK's amended CO2 emissions plan

London (Platts)--22Feb2006

The European Commission Wednesday formally rejected the United Kingdom's
amended National Allocation Plan for emissions allowances under the EU
Emissions Trading Scheme.

     "The European Commission today took the decision to reject the UK request
for additional carbon dioxide emission allowances to UK companies for the
2005-2007 trading period," the commission said in a statement. "The amended
plan outlined an increase in the number of CO2 emission allowances by about
20-mil mt compared to the UK's original allocation plan, which had been
assessed and partly approved by the Commission in July 2004." 

     A spokesman for the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
said the government was "surprised and disappointed" by the decision. "We
believe we have a strong argument in favor of our position." Defra is now
considering its position, the spokesman added.

     The UK originally sought, and was given, a total allocation of 736-mil mt
to cover the first three years of the EU ETS (2005-2007). Following pressure
from industry, the UK government then sought to increase the allocation.
The UK submitted an amended plan in November 2004, but this was rejected by
the Commission in April 2005. Following an appeal by the UK, the European
Court of First Instance annulled the Commission's decision to reject the
amended NAP, forcing it to consider the Plan.

     The Commission's decision is based on the fact that the amendments to the
UK NAP were only notified to it after the deadline for submissions on Sep 30
2005.

     For more information, take a trial to Platts Global Alert at
http://globalalert.platts.com.

Please visit: www.platts.com

Their coverage of energy matters is extensive!!