stephanie
11-20-2008, 11:24 AM
:eek:
The Government has provoked anger by saying proceeds of sale will not necessarily be used to tackle climate change issues Robin Pagnamenta, Energy and Environment Editor
The Government provoked protests from campaign groups yesterday as it began Europe's first auction of carbon emissions permits but admitted that the proceeds would not necessarily be used to tackle climate change.
The Treasury said that it had raised £54 million through the sale of four million permits for £13.60 per tonne under the next stage of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Yesterday's auction marked a departure from the policy of handing out the permits to industry for free. By 2012, in the second phase of the scheme, 85 million permits will be auctioned, possibly raising more than £1 billion for the Treasury. From 2013, this figure is expected to rise to about £2.5 billion a year, according to WSP, the environmental consultancy.
Campaigners said that the Treasury's decision to put the proceeds into its coffers rather than ringfencing them for use in environmental projects plays into the hands of critics, who fear that the ETS will be treated as little more than a green tax.
read the rest..
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article5192585.ece
The Government has provoked anger by saying proceeds of sale will not necessarily be used to tackle climate change issues Robin Pagnamenta, Energy and Environment Editor
The Government provoked protests from campaign groups yesterday as it began Europe's first auction of carbon emissions permits but admitted that the proceeds would not necessarily be used to tackle climate change.
The Treasury said that it had raised £54 million through the sale of four million permits for £13.60 per tonne under the next stage of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Yesterday's auction marked a departure from the policy of handing out the permits to industry for free. By 2012, in the second phase of the scheme, 85 million permits will be auctioned, possibly raising more than £1 billion for the Treasury. From 2013, this figure is expected to rise to about £2.5 billion a year, according to WSP, the environmental consultancy.
Campaigners said that the Treasury's decision to put the proceeds into its coffers rather than ringfencing them for use in environmental projects plays into the hands of critics, who fear that the ETS will be treated as little more than a green tax.
read the rest..
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article5192585.ece