Under the plans outlined by the government for phase II, the UK’s overall cap represents an annual reduction of 29.3 million tons of CO2 against projected business as usual emissions.
The government will be auctioning 7% of allowances, as well as any surplus from the new entrant reserve. There will also be an 8% limit on the use of Kyoto project credits, the Department for Trade and Industry says.
However the government has bowed to pressure from industry by amending some of the emitters incorporated into the scheme, with some heavy industrial plants that were previously excluded now being brought into ETS. This has allowed for the removal of other emitters, notably universities and hospitals, which are acknowledged to be relatively minor offenders CO2-wise.
The government’s submission of its phase II NAP has come sooner than many of its peers in the EU, causing consternation among the industrial lobby in Britain. Businesses are worried that, as happened in phase I of the scheme, the UK may be seen to have submitted overly harsh restrictions on its industrial polluters in the context of later NAPs from other member states.
Martin Temple, director general of manufacturers’ organization the EEF, was quoted by The Times newspaper as saying: Yet again, the UK is in the vanguard whilst the rest of Europe remains in the starting blocks. Not only have we published targets ahead of the majority of our major European competitors, but set limits which are likely to be far more stringent.
