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18.05.2010 15:20
© European Commission
A communication by the European Commission today stated that emissions of greenhouse gases from EU businesses participating in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) fell 11.6 % in 2009 compared with a 2008, according to the information provided by Member State registries.
Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said: "Due to the crisis the significant drop in emissions does not come as a surprise. The EU has a functioning trading system driving emission reductions even during a recession. We should not hide that the recession has significantly weakened the price signal. The carbon market can and should be a stronger driver for low-carbon investments. And we must also realise that because of the crisis it suddenly became easier to reduce emissions and that is good. Unfortunately that also means that European business did not invest nearly as much as planned in innovation, which could harm our future ability to compete on promising markets."
Verified emissions of greenhouse gases from all installations in the EU ETS in 2009 totalled 1.873 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent. In 2009 emissions were about 11.6 % lower than the 2008 level. The decrease is attributed to several factors. Firstly, the reduced economic activity as a result of the recession and secondly, the low level of gas prices throughout 2009 which has made it much more attractive to produce power from gas rather than more emitting coal. Furthermore, the carbon price in phase 2 (2008-2012) of the EU ETS has surely also resulted in companies changing behaviour and reducing emissions.
Of all the installations participating in the scheme last year, 2 % did not surrender the required quantity of allowances by the deadline of 1 May 2010. These installations are typically small and together they account for less than 2% of emission captured in the EU ETS.
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