IP/07/1612 Brussels, 26 October 2007

Emissions trading: Commission approves Romania`s national allocation plans for 2007 and 2008-2012

The European Commission today adopted the decisions on the proposed Romanian national plans for allocating carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) emission allowances for 2007 and the 2008-2012 trading period of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Having become an EU member earlier this year, Romania is required to draw up a plan for 2007 - the last year of the first trading period - in addition to a plan for the second trading period. The cleared annual allocation for Romania for 2008-2012 is 75.9 million tonnes of CO₂ allowances or 20.7% less than proposed. The Commission also approved amendments to the allocation plan of Germany. 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.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "Today`s decision finalises the assessment process for the second trading period. We have now fixed the EU-wide cap for 2008 to 2012 at 2.08 billion allowances per year after reducing the number of allowances allocated in the second period by more than 10%. We have assured a robust market with real emission reductions which will constitute an important contribution to meeting our Kyoto target."
Assessment of the NAPsFollowing the Commission`s decisions in November 2006, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August and October 2007 (IP/06/1650, IP/07/51, IP/07/136, IP/07/247, IP/07/412, IP/07/415, IP/07/459, IP/07/501, IP/07/613, IP/07/667,IP/07/749, IP/07/1131, IP/07/1274, IP/07/1566) Romania is the 26^th national allocation plans (NAP) for the 2008-2012 period to be assessed by the Commission. 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 specify how many CO₂ emission allowances each plant will receive.The Commission is responsible for assessing Member States` proposed NAPs against 12 allocation criteria listed in the Emissions Trading Directive. The Commission may accept a plan in part or in full. The assessment criteria seek, among other things, to ensure that plans are consistent (a) with meeting the EU`s and Member States` Kyoto commitments, (b) with actual verified emissions reported in the Commission`s annual progress reports, and (c) with technological potential for reducing emissions. Other assessment criteria relate to non-discrimination, EU competition and state aid rules, and technical aspects. To this end, the Commission is requiring the Romanian NAPs to be changed as follows:
For 2007

• The allocation may not exceed 74.8 million allowances.
• Several intended ex-post adjustments must be eliminated.

• The annual allocation may not exceed 75.9 million allowances.
• The total quantity of allowances needs to include a reserve for credits to be issued for projects reducing emissions in Romanian installations covered by the EU ETS sector and carried out under the Kyoto Protocol’s Joint Implementation mechanism. The allocation to installations carrying out the relevant activities needs to be lowered correspondingly.
• Several intended ex-post adjustments must be eliminated.