European Parliament opposes higher "polluter's permit" price
Strasbourg, France
The proposal to freeze credits, dubbed "backloading", was rejected by a narrow margin, with 334 MEPs voting in favour of an amendment rejecting the proposal, 315 voting against it and 63 abstaining. The proposal will now be referred back to the EP Environment Committee.
MEPs opposing the measure advocate deeper reform of the ETS and fear that interfering with the supply of credits could undermine players' confidence in the scheme. Some also believe that a rise in the carbon price would erode the competitiveness of European industry and be passed on in household energy bills.
On the other hand supporters of the measure argued that an oversupply of credits must be corrected to make the system function as intended. They say a higher carbon price would catalyse the EU's transition to a green economy by stimulating investment and innovation and could also help to connect the EU carbon market with those of other regions.
"I deeply regret today's vote. It is the beginning of the repatriation of climate policy," said EP rapporteur Matthias Groote (S&D, DE). "This kind of politics plays into the hands of climate sceptics. The rejection of the backloading proposal weakens the EU emissions trading system and puts our climate goals at risk," he added.
Source: IWR Online, 16 Apr 2013
