Brussels, 15/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - The British authorities intend to bring the decision by the European Commission on the fight against climate change before the Court of Justice. The reason for this is the European Commission's refusal to agree to changes the United Kingdom is proposing to make in its national plan to allocate greenhouse gas emissions quotas, increasing the volume of these quotas by the equivalent of 20 million tonnes of CO2.
However, pending the Court of Justice's ruling, companies established in the United Kingdom will not be prevented from taking part in the European emissions trading system. The British government has just announced its intentions of allocating the quotas as soon as possible, provisionally respecting the volume approved by the European Commission last July, or 736 equivalent tonnes of CO2.
The Commission welcomes this. In a press release, Stavros Dimas, the Commissioner for the Environment, states: “It is important that companies based in the UK have the opportunity to trade in the EU emissions system from the start (…). UK-based installations represent 11% of the EU system so their active involvement in trading will contribute to its success”.
In November 2004, the British authorities informed the Commission that the provisional figures approved in July had to be adapted to take account of a technical check carried out in the meantime. They call for the Commission to approve a revised figure of 756 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The Commission points out that it is “legally impossible to take a new decision revising quota totals upwards”.
The Commission and the British government are working together closely on the issue of climate change from two points of view: the forthcoming G8 Summit under British Presidency (Scotland, July), at which climate will be a priority, and the British Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of this year.