Eurobrief June 2011

The Computer Emergency Response pre-configuration Team (CERT) has been established by the European Commission to counter the threat of cyber attacks against EU institutions, bodies and agencies. The CERT, part of the Digital Agenda for Europe, adopted in May 2010, follows a year of hacking into Commission systems, in particular the EU ETS national registries.

The Brussels Court of First Instance has rejected a lawsuit launched by Italian firm TCIE against the European Commission regarding naming companies in possession of stolen EUAs. The lawsuit would have forced the Commission to name companies in possession of stolen EUAs, something that the Court of First Instance said was confidential.

The European Parliament’s draft own initiative Resolution calling for an increase of the 20% emission reduction target by 2020 will be voted in plenary on 5 July 2011 as the vote has been postponed.

A new fund offering financial support for emissions reduction is being promoted by the European Commission for “traditional” manufacturing and process industries covered by the ETS.

Recent estimates published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggest that energy-related carbon dioxide emissions will drop by 2035 due to the large availability of global gas supplies, with emissions falling more significantly in industry.