Brussels, 07/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - In a ruling returned on 7 March, the General Court of the EU has rejected the appeal brought by Poland against the European Commission decision of April 2011 defining the interim rules concerning the allocation of greenhouse gas emissions quotas free of charge from 2013. The Court argues that this decision does not discriminate against industrial plants using coal as fuel.
In its decision (2011/78/EU), the Commission determined the benchmarks for each sector and sub-sector on the basis of the average performance of the most efficient installations over the period 2007-2008, in order to calculate the number of emissions quotas to be allocated free of charge to each installation in question from 2013. In its ruling (T-370/11), the General Court judges that:
1) the decision could not be challenged on the grounds of the rules of the Treaty on the energy policy, as it implements directive 2003/87/EC, which is based on the environment policy rules.
2) the Commission did not infringe the principle of equal treatment when it decided on equality of treatment for all installations in different situations and using different fuels, when laying down the benchmarks to calculate the number of emissions quotas to allocate.
On this aspect, it notes that: - the distinction of the product benchmarks on the basis of the fuel used did not encourage industrial installations using fuels which emit large amounts of CO2 from seeking solutions allowing them to reduce their emissions; - a distinction of this kind would bring about a risk of an increase in emissions, as installations using fuels with low CO2 emissions could be encouraged to replace these fuels with other ones with higher CO2 emissions; - the choice of natural gas, which is a low emitter of CO2, to determine the heat and fuel benchmarks aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
3) the decision takes appropriate account of the economic and social consequences of measures to reduce CO2 emissions, as: - the operating rules applicable will be brought in gradually from 2013 and high-emitting installations, such as the coal-fired ones in Poland, will initially receive a greater quantity of quotas, free of charge, to cover their requirements; - there are mechanisms which allow countries with low revenue and high-growth potential to reduce the intensity of carbon by 2020. Moreover, from 2013, the member states can auction off all allowances that are not issued free of charge, to allow the installations to buy missing quotas. Furthermore, this system will comply with the “polluter pays” principle, as the installations which emit the most CO2 will be obliged to pay for quotas bought at auction or to cut their emissions.
On these bases, the General Court rejects Poland's argument that the decision contested would bring about a reduction in the competitiveness of companies located in member states where production is principally linked to coal as a fuel. (FG/transl.fl)