Government urged to back down over emissions row

Posted on February, 23 2006

WWF urges the UK government to back down gracefully over a legal dispute with the European Commission about increasing carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) from industry.

WWF urges the UK government to back down gracefully over a legal dispute with the European Commission about increasing carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) from industry.

The European Commission rejected an amendment to the UK's contribution to the European Emissions Trading Scheme, which would have allowed the power sector to emit an extra 20 million tonnes of CO2. This follows a decision of the Court of First Instance in November last year, in which the UK won its legal case for the Commission to re-consider the UK's amended plan.

The European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is the key environmental and economically viable initiative, through which, the Government has said it will meet its manifesto commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 per cent by 2010.

Responding to the news, Matthew Davis, Director of WWF's climate change campaign, said: "If the government wants to have any chance of meeting its national climate change targets Tony Blair must accept the decision of the European Commission. To appeal against it would completely undermine the UK's self-styled international leadership on climate change."

A recent report by the Department of Trade and Industry has shown that far from being a financial burden, it estimates that the power generation sector is actually making at least £800 million a year windfall profits during the first phase of the Emissions Trading Scheme, which runs until 2007. By increasing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions industry can emit this would simply boost the sector's windfall profits further.

Matthew Davis added: "The power sector is the largest polluter, responsible for a third of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. Giving the sector further license to pollute would only serve to line the pockets of the power sector at the expense of the environment. It would also put a nail in the coffin of the government's climate change targets."

For further information:
Alison Sutton, WWF-UK
Tel:+44 1483 412 388,
Mobile: +44 7747 455 256,
E-mail: asutton@wwf.org.uk

The Kyoto Protocol is the world's only international agreement to reduce CO2 emissions, the main greenhouse gas responsible for climate change and global warming.