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EU proposes to cut carbon offsets for industry
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Influential European Union lawmakers voted to cut the amount of carbon offsets industry can use from 2008-2020 to meet their greenhouse gas emissions caps under the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS).
The European Parliament's environment committee votes are not the legislature's final say but will set the tone for energy and climate change negotiations with EU leaders ahead of a final agreement expected later this year or early in 2009.
The panel voted to allow industry only to use "high quality" offsets, called CERs and ERUs, from 2013-2020, amounting annually to up to 4 percent of their 2005 emissions. They can use up to 6.5 percent from 2008-2012, they said.
Overall that allowed industry to use offsets equivalent to 40 percent of their emissions cuts required under the EU ETS from 2008-20, which is a cut from 45-48 percent on the European Commission's proposals in January, a Commission spokeswoman said.
