164 sectors vulnerable to carbon leakage

The European Commission has released its draft list of sectors at risk of carbon leakage. This would entail 164 sectors and sub-sectors free carbon allowances from 2013 onwards according to stringent benchmarks.

Commission draft decision is now under 3 months Parliament and Council scrutiny. The Council, the Commission and Parliament are expected to come to a provisional decision before the Copenhagen Climate Conference. The Commission is expected to adopt a final Regulation on the issue on 30 December 2009. The 164 sectors and sub sectors on the list account for around a quarter of total EU ETSⁱ emissions and just over three-quarters of manufacturing emissions covered by the scheme. The lists of sectors at risk of carbon leakage will be re-assessed in the light of the outcome of any international agreement. (See Eurobrief 178 editorial)