EU Lists Industries Exempted from Carbon Trading

EurActiv (9/21) – Experts from the 27-member bloc agreed on a list of industries ranging from plastics manufacturing to iron and food processing that will be largely exempted from CO2 trading after 2013 for fears that their inclusion would move production abroad. The list, covering the most carbon-intensive industries such as steel, cement and chemicals, represents 77% of the total manufacturing emissions under the EU's emissions trading scheme (EU ETS). Moreover, the carbon leakage discussion is far from over, as the actual number of free allowances that each installation gets will not be decided until 2011. These will be determined on the basis of "performance benchmarks", meaning that only the 10% most efficient installations will receive all their allowances for free. The Commission hopes that the benchmarks will give manufacturers additional incentives to cut emissions.