WCA media release
17 April 2013
LONDON – The World Coal Association (WCA) has welcomed this week’s decision by the European Parliament to reject the proposal to allow carbon prices to be propped up in the Emissions Trading Scheme, calling it a triumph of common sense and balanced policy.
The so-called “back-loading” amendment would have allowed the European Commission to change the timing of the auction of emissions allowances and led to the postponement of the 2013-2015 auction of 900 million allowances until 2019-2020 – providing an artificial boost to carbon prices.
Milton Catelin, Chief Executive of the WCA, praised the decision, stating: “The European Parliament has finally made a decision on environmental policy that recognises that there’s a balance to be made between environmental imperatives and economic growth. At a time when across Europe governments are having to make difficult decisions to stimulate economic growth and tackle debt, it would have been madness to agree to back-loading and ignore the cost burden of EU climate policies on consumers and European industry. The Polish government alone has estimated that back-loading would have cost it €1 billion over the period 2013-2020. Other Eastern European EU members would have been looking at a similar cost. The cost is simply too high at a time when Europe cannot afford it.”
There are other encouraging signs that European leaders may be reviewing the effectiveness of environmental measures, such as propping up carbon prices, and their impact on energy poverty. Last week, the European Commissioner for Energy, Gunther Oettinger, made the point that the cost of energy needed to be given greater weight when setting EU energy policy and that the bloc needed to be more pragmatic about initiatives to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
“Both the vote this week and the comments by Commissioner Oettinger are welcome news. For too long, European governments have seemed unwilling to measure the impact of environmental policies, not only in contributing to a reduction in global emissions but also their economic impact. Common sense and a more balanced approach to policy may finally be prevailing”.
-ENDS-
Notes
The World Coal Association was founded in 1985 and has been working on behalf of the global coal industry for almost 30 years. WCA’s Members comprise the world’s major international coal producers and stakeholders. Membership is open to companies and not-for-profit organisations from anywhere in the world. The WCA provides a voice for coal in international environment and energy forums, presenting the case for coal to key stakeholders worldwide.
For further information, please contact:
Katie Warrick, Communications Director
kwarrick@worldcoal.org
t: +44 (0) 20 7851 0052
Vanessa Sobun-Springham, Communications Manager
vsobun-springham@worldcoal.org
t: +44 (0) 20 7851 0052
