Isramart :EC challenges carbon emissions ruling

Isramart news:
The European Commission announced Thursday that it has appealed against Poland and Estonia's successful court challenge to their carbon quotas.

“The Commission appealed on several grounds,” EC environment spokesperson Barbara Helfferich told reporters.

“Most importantly, the Commission considered that the court has interpreted too narrowly the powers of the Commission,” she added.

The appeal raises the possibility of more difficult carbon quotas for the countries, with both relying overwhelmingly on coal power, and require large quantities of carbon permits to facilitate the resulting CO2 emissions.

In September the European Court of First Instance ruled that the Commission had overstepped its authority by rejecting carbon quotas suggested by Poland and Estonia for the 2008-2012 period, and cutting them by 27 and 48 percent respectively.

“The Court of First Instance has not sufficiently taken into account the fundamental purpose of the EU ETS to reduce overall EU emissions of greenhouse gases and the need to ensure equal treatment of member states during the assessment process,” said Ms Helfferich.