EC clears factories for emissions trading
allocation plans for CO2 emission allowances clears over 5,000
plants to enter the emissions market next January, with food
processors among the factories named.
Five of the plans - from Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden - have been accepted unconditionally. Another three - from Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom - have been approved on condition that technical changes are made. This will make them automatically acceptable, without requiring a second assessment by the Commission.
National allocation plans outline the number of CO2 emission allowances that Member States intend to allocate to energy-intensive industrial plants, so they can participate in emissions trading(EU ETS) from January 2005. This week's decision clears over 5,000 plants of an estimated 12,000 in the EU25.
EU ETS is one of the policies being introduced across Europe to tackle emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and combat the serious threat of climate change. The scheme comes into force on 1 January 2005, and is designed to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions in the energy and industry sectors are cut at least cost to the economy and help the EU and its Member States meet their emission targets under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
The environmental regulator has cautioned food and drink manufacturers that if they fail to comply with essential environmental legislation they risk hefty fines.
"This decision is a crucial step as it clears the way for almost half of the plants which will be part of the Pan European emissions trading system," said environment commissioner Margot Wallström. "The decision shows that we are serious about our climate change policy and that we can start the emission trading the first of January next year as planned."
The national allocation plans show how many CO2 emission allowances Member States plan to allocate for the 2005-2007 trading period, and how many each plant will receive. The Commission's task is to scrutinise the plans against eleven allocation criteria listed in an annex to the Emissions Trading Directive.
The most important criteria seek to ensure that the plan fits in with the country's overall strategy to reach its Kyoto target. Other criteria relate to non-discrimination issues, EU competition and state aid rules and technical aspects. The Commission may accept a plan in part or in full. If it accepts a plan unconditionally, the Member State can take a final allocation decision.
Food giants such as Unilever and Campina have already put in place measures to achieve significant reductions in energy consumption, underlining the trend towards growing corporate environmental responsibility.
For example, Campina, one of Europe's largest dairy companies, has produced a statement that outlines the measures taken to improve the group's environmental performance. Contained in the Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2003, which has been published in Dutch, German and English, it outlines investments made in recycling water, an energy consumption reduction of 2 per cent and a €6 million allocation for environmental projects.
Unilever is another food giant that has actively been looking at ways to achieve energy reductions. A distribution centre in Coventry, UK for example has been fitted with state-of-the-art insulation and energy re-use facilities and has produced savings in refrigeration costs of some 40 per cent compared with traditional designs.
There is certainly growing pressure on processors to achieve dramatic reductions in emissions. Legislation is obviously a key driver, but likewise, attitudes in business are beginning to change. BP group chief executive John Browne wrote in a recent article in Foreign Affairs that manufacturers need to start taking steps immediately to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in order to make a big difference in the future.
"The most recent IPCC assessment, published in 2001, concludes that if no precautionary action is taken, carbon dioxide concentrations will rise by 2050 to between 450 and 550 ppm and will continue to increase throughout the twenty-first century," he wrote. "The IPCC estimates that temperatures will rise by between 0.5 degrees Celsius and 2.5 degrees Celsius by 2050, with an increase of 1.4 degrees to 5.8 degrees possible by 2100."
These concerns, said Browne, are serious. "But they are not the only energy security issues we face. Equally worrying is the risk that the growing consumption of hydrocarbons will impose an unsustainable burden on the earth's climate. If that threat becomes a reality, drastic action could become necessary, imposing crippling costs on the whole world."
