Tuesday, January 22, 2008

EU to auction all emissions permits

But, but, I have an invitation to the Rentseekers Ball.
How shall I rebuild my balance sheet?
What will replace sub-prime?
My cat doesn't like Sevruga!

Sorry, forgot where I was.
From the Times of London:

The emissions trading system that has been criticised for giving power generators a £9billion windfall is likely to be swept away in 2013.

The European Commission's draft plan for the third phase of emissions trading, to be released on Wednesday, is expected to introduce an auction for all emissions permits as Europe toughens its stance on polluting generators.

The changes to the allocation of permits will form the centrepiece of a raft of green measures, designed to achieve the European Union's challenging target of moving from 8.5 per cent renewable energy now to 20 per cent by 2020. The changes are likely to be translated into a British target of generating more than 30 per cent of power from renewable sources, compared with only 5 per cent at present.

The EU's changes to the scheme will please the Treasury, which finds the existing system of free allocations unpalatable but does not wish to hand political capital to its opponents by imposing a second windfall tax on utilities....MORE