Commission conditionally accepts Polish NAP

This would slash 141.3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent from the original plan.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: “Poland plays a very important role in EU emissions trading. Through its decision, the Commission clears the way for Polish companies to participate in emissions trading and ensures that there is no over allocation on the market.”

Poland’s trading plan is the largest among the new Member States and one of the four largest in the EU with more than 1,100 installations covered by the scheme.

The conditional acceptance is for a total allowance volume of 717.3 million tonnes for the 2005-2007 trading period. The Commission found that the Polish allocation plan exceeds projected emissions and contravenes several criteria of the emissions trading directive. It accepted that all companies in the plan qualify for trading but said that they will only be allowed to do so once Poland has reduced the total number of allowances and amended the allocation plan as requested.

Polish authorities have requested to exempt 221 small installations in the buildings material sector from the scheme, saying that they would account for less than 0.2% of the emissions covered by the present NAP.

By David Hopkins