Isramart llc : EU Seeks Link With Federal Rather Than Local U.S. Carbon Trading

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The European Union will keep trying to link its carbon market, the world's biggest, with any federal-level program rather than the nation's regional systems.

A federal U.S. cap-and-trade program, narrowly approved in the House of Representatives last year, didn't gain enough support to pass the Senate this year. States including California are proposing emissions trading under a program known as the Western Climate Initiative in 2012.

"The main emphasis is what is happening at the federal level," Peter Zapfel, head of policy coordination in the climate unit of the European Commission said today in an interview at a Chatham House conference in London. Chatham House is an international policy adviser based in London. "The regional markets are useful early experiences," Zapfel said.

The 27-nation bloc started its European trading system in 2005, capping emissions for about 12,000 factories and power stations and allowing them to buy and sell credits. The EU said it will reduce the supply of CO2 permits by 21 percent in 2020 compared with 2005 as part of its plan to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 20 percent compared with 1990 levels.