Czech and Polish national allocation plans for 2008-2012

The European Commission took decisions on the national plans of the Czech Republic and Poland for allocating CO2 emission allowances for the 2008-2012 trading period of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). It accepted both national plans on condition that a number of changes are made, including a significant reduction in the total number of emission allowances proposed by each Member State.

The cleared annual allocation of CO2 allowances is 86.8 million tonnes for the Czech Republic, 14.8% lower than proposed, and 208.5 million tonnes for Poland, 26.7% lower than proposed. The Emissions Trading Scheme ensures that greenhouse gas emissions from the energy and industry sectors covered are cut at least cost to the economy, thus helping the EU and its Member States to meet their emission commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.

National allocation plans (NAPs) determine for each Member State the 'cap,' or limit, on the total amount of CO2 that installations covered by the EU ETS can emit, and set out how many CO2 emission allowances each plant will receive. Following the Commission's decisions in November 2006, January 2007 and February 2007, the new decisions on the Czech and Polish national allocation plans, as well as France's, bring to 17 the number of NAPsfor the 2008-2012 period already assessed by the Commission.

In assessing NAPs, the Commission mainly requires changes where:

• the proposed total of allowances ('cap') is not consistent with meeting the Member State's Kyoto target,
• the proposed cap is not consistent with the Member State’s expected emissions and its technological potential to reduce these. This assessment takes into account the Member State’s independently verified emissions in 2005 and anticipated changes in both its economic growth and carbon intensity,
• the proposed limit on the use by companies of credits obtained from emission-reduction projects in third countries carried out under the Kyoto Protocol's flexible mechanisms is not consistent with the rule that the use of these mechanisms should be supplementary to domestic action to address emissions.

Further information: Emissions trading