Revised emissions plan published

The Government has amended its strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions after an earlier version of the plan was criticised by the European Commission.

A revised draft of the second National Allocation Plan for Emissions Trading was published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this morning.

The previous plan, which was submitted late last year, was accepted by the EC on condition that a number of modifications were adopted.

Most significantly, Ireland's application for 22.6 million allowances per year was cut to 21.15 million. One allowance gives the holder the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide.

The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is the European Commission's key tool to meet targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto agreement. It puts a limit on the amount of carbon dioxide that big emitters such as power plants and oil refineries can emit.

Under the scheme, governments are allowed sell rights to large greenhouse gas producers. Companies buy more rights to emit if they overshoot their target or sell them if they come in below the cap. They face fines if they do not have enough rights to cover their actual emissions.

The European Commission has previously said that Ireland will be almost 16 per cent off its Kyoto Protocol target for reducing carbon emissions unless new measures are introduced.

The EU target is to reduce emissions to 8 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. Ireland has a special dispensation to increase emissions by 13 per cent in the period under an EU "burden-sharing" mechanism.

However, the EC estimates that without additional measures, Irish emissions will rise by 29.6 per cent over the period. Irish emissions are 23 per cent above the level produced in 1990.

The Government's plan has now been updated to take account of the changes resulting from the EU approval process, and it covers a number of key changes including a reduction in the total number of allowances per annum from 22.6 million to 22.2 million from 2008 to 2012

The plan also takes into account the role of renewables in electricity generation and contains a proposal to increase the dedicated set-aside of emissions allowances designed to promote Combined Heat and Power facilities.

Speaking today, Dr Ken Macken, programme manager at the EPA, said that implementation of the ETS will help Ireland to meet its Kyoto obligations in a cost effective manner.

"I believe our proposals are fair and transparent and take into account the environmental integrity of the scheme and the potential effects on the economy," he said.

Over 100 major industrial and institutional sites in Ireland are covered in the revised plan, and the EPA estimates that the total quantity of allowances to be allocated from 2008 to 2012 represents 87 per cent of forecast emissions in that period.