Emissions of greenhouse gases from installations participating in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) decreased by more than 2% last year, according to the information provided by Member State registries. Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said: "ETS Emissions decreased by more than…
Emissions of greenhouse gases from installations participating in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) decreased by more than 2% last year, according to the information provided by Member State registries.
Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said: "ETS Emissions decreased by more than 2% in 2011 despite an expanding economy recovery. This good result shows that the ETS is delivering cost-effective emissions reductions. It also emphasizes why the ETS remains the engine to drive low-carbon growth in Europe. However, there is still a growing buffer of unused allowances. This is why the Commission, as announced last month, is now reviewing the time profile of phase 3 auctions with a view to reducing the number of allowances for auction in the early years of phase 3".
2011 emissions data
The EU ETS covers more than 12,000 power plants and manufacturing installations in the 27 EU member states, Norway and Liechtenstein and, from this year, emissions from airlines flying to and from airports in these countries. Despite an expanding European economy, verified emissions of greenhouse gases from these installations1 dropped to 1.889 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent last year, more than 2% below the 2010 level.
Second year of emissions reporting from aircraft operators with very high level of compliance
As in 2010, almost all commercial airlines with significant operations to or from EU airports have reported their 2011 emissions on time, despite the fact that these emissions do not trigger obligations to surrender allowances this year and are not needed for specific regulatory purposes. More than 1200 emissions reports for 2011 have been submitted to the Member States by airlines. There has been systematic non-reporting of 2011 emissions from flights to or from EU airports by airlines based in China and India. This concerns 10 commercial airlines that are currently operating to or from the EU, representing less than 1% of emission reports and less than 3% of emissions.
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