- Title: EU-ETS/VOTE EU politicians back 2018 reform of carbon market in preliminary vote
- Date: 24th February 2015
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (FEBRUARY 24, 2015) (REUTERS) STEEL INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVE EUROFER'S DIRECTOR GENERAL, AXEL EGGERT, SPEAKING DURING INTERVIEW EUROFER SIGN (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF STEELBODY EUROFER, AXEL EGGERT, SAYING: "To introduce the Market Stability Reserve already in 2018 is far too ambitious. It's too early because the European industry needs to recover from the economic crisis. In addition, if we do not have effective measures to safeguard the global competitiveness of the industry in Europe, then of course the higher prices for our industry will lead to de-investment, de-industrialisation in Europe."
- Embargoed: 11th March 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Belgium
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAEMUIV9Q7CBQVYKDRZY8ABWHTV
- Story Text: European politicians voted on Tuesday (February 24) to start reforms to bolster prices on the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) by the end of 2018, earlier than the European Commission's proposal of 2021.
The environment committee vote in the European Parliament still needs to be followed by a vote of the full assembly and win endorsement from EU member states to become law.
Benchmark carbon prices were at 7.67 euros a tonne at 1517 GMT, down 1.2 percent on Monday's close.
Member of the European Parliament Ivo Belet, who drew up the report, described the vote as a good balance between an ambitious climate policy and an industrial policy.
"It is not against industry, this is an incentive for industry, in order to mitigate, to diminish, to decrease, CO2 emissions but at the same time we want to give guarantees to a strong industry in Europe," Belet told reporters after the vote.
Traders said the market reacted negatively to the outcome of the vote because there had been hopes reforms to the world's largest carbon market would begin earlier.
Member states Britain and Germany, which want to boost investment in low-carbon power generation such as nuclear or renewables, led calls to start sooner, by 2017, and were backed by utilities such as E.ON.
To boost prices, the EU plans to take hundreds of millions of surplus carbon allowances out of the market and place them in a so-called Market Stability Reserve. It would put them back into circulation if demand rises.
The ETS is the bloc's flagship policy to cut greenhouse gas emissions by charging for the right to emit carbon dioxide, but weak economic growth has cut industrial production and energy demand, creating a glut of more than 2 billion permits.
Axel Eggert, Director General of steel body Eurofer said 2018 was too for the reforms to take effect, because the Europe is still recovering from the economic crisis. He warned the industry would lose competitiveness.
"To introduce the Market Stability Reserve already in 2018 is far too ambitious. It's too early because the European industry needs to recover from the economic crisis. In addition, if we do not have effective measures to safeguard the global competitiveness of the industry in Europe, then of course the higher prices for our industry will lead to de-investment, de-industrialisation in Europe," Eggert said.
The Environment Committee also approved on Tuesday on a draft law to place a cap on the production of traditional biofuels. The draft law hopes to reduce greenhouse gases while accelerating the development of biofuels from alternative sources that have a less negative environmental impact by 2020. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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