Brussels, 15/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Emissions in 2011 from the over 12,000 power plants and manufacturing installations taking part in the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) fell to 1,889 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, a drop of more than 2%, according to figures published by the European Commission on Tuesday 15 May. The information on the verified emissions is taken from member states' registries, and provides solace to those fearing the loss of effectiveness of the ETS, badly affected by the fall in price of carbon to its lowest ever level. Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard was the first to hail this reduction, which was achieved despite the acceleration of economic recovery.
“This good result shows that the ETS is delivering cost-effective emissions reductions. It also emphasises why the ETS remains the engine to drive low-carbon growth in Europe. However, there is still a growing buffer of unused allowances. This is why the Commission, as announced last month, is now reviewing the time profile of phase 3 auctions with a view to reducing the number of allowances for auction in the early years of phase 3”, she said.
Overall, the level of compliance with ETS rules was high: in 2011, less than 1% of the installations participating did not surrender allowances covering all their 2011 emissions by the deadline of 30 April 2012. These installations are typically small and together account for less than 1% of emissions covered by the EU ETS. Only 2% of installations failed to submit verified emissions for 2011 by the same deadline.
As in 2010, almost all commercial airlines with significant operations to or from EU airports have reported their 2011 emissions on time, despite the fact that these emissions do not trigger obligations to surrender allowances this year and are not needed for specific regulatory purposes. More than 1,200 emissions reports for 2011 have been submitted to the member states by airlines. This has not been the case for airlines based in China and India where there has been systematic non-reporting of 2011 emissions from flights to or from EU airports. This concerns 10 commercial airlines that are currently operating to or from the EU, representing less than 1% of emission reports and less than 3% of emissions. The record use of international credits in 2011 has increased the buffer of unused allowances by some 450 million. This means more than 900 million more allowances have been put into circulation than were surrendered for compliance use over the period 2008-2011. (AN/transl.rt)