MEPs frustrated with late carbon–trading plans

Speakers from all major political groups in the European Parliament attacked the Commission for being soft on Member States after a majority of EU countries missed a 30 June deadline to submit CO2 emissions trading plans.

On 5 September only ten out of the 25 EU Member States had formally submitted their National Allocation Plan (NAPs) according to the Commission's website. They are: Estonia Germany Greece Ireland Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Poland Slovakia and the United Kingdom. MEPs in the Parliament on 4 September held a debate on the national allocation plans for the second phase of the emission trading scheme (2008-2012) the EU's flagship policy to reduce global warming.

Speaking for the Parliament's leading centre-right European's People's Party (EPP-ED) Avril Doyle (Ireland) said she fully supported the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol and the EU-ETS. But she attacked the EU's environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas for claiming that the system is working smoothly.

The theory is good the practice has been awful she exclaimed saying that 21 countries fell short of their own emissions predictions by 44 million tonnes in 2005. This she said resulted in absolutely no downward pressure to reduce emissions and led to a very volatile carbon market. We need industry to buy in to what we are saying we need credibility in practice as well as well as theory she concluded.