Eurobrief July/August 2010

EDITORIAL IED adopted: stricter constraints will make NOx and SO2 trading unnecessary July-August 2010 - It was a close shave but, in the last days of the Spanish EU Presidency, the compromise proposal on the IED, which had been hammered out with considerable difficulty in the Council, was approved by the European Parliament by 639 votes.

ENVIRONMENT Final global climate talks take place in Bonn The second-last round of global climate talks before the Cancún summit in December have taken place in Bonn.

EDITORIAL CEMBUREAU quarterly economic report: Continuous fall in EU cement activity despite overall EU economic recovery CEMBUREAU is pleased to announce that its Economic Studies and Statistics Department will, from now, on publish a quarterly economic report in the Eurobrief. Please find below the first edition.

BUILDINGS & BUILDING MATERIALS Energy performance of buildings Directive enters into force The Directive amending and repealing Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy performance of buildings, which was published in the EU’s Official Journal (OJ) on 18 June 2010, entered into force on 8 July 2010.

EU EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME CO2 emissions fall in the cement industry The global cement sector has continued to reduce the amount of CO2 it emits per tonne of cement, according to new data published by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI).

OTHER NEWS CLM BREF formally adopted The translations of the ‘Executive Summary’ of the adopted Cement and Lime BREF have been published.

EU EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME Overall provisional cap for 2013 emissions under ETS established Greenhouse gas emissions from industrial installations included in the EU’s Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) will be provisionally capped at just under 1.927Bt in 2013, the first year of the 2013-2020 trading period.

EU EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME Member States approve ETS auctioning rules Member States have unanimously approved European Commission proposals for rules governing the auctioning of carbon allowances from 2013 under the EU’s Emission Trading Scheme (ETS).

EU EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME French, German and UK environment ministers personally support 30% CO2 cut In a personal letter addressed to the Financial Times (15 July 2010), French, German and UK environment ministers have urged the EU to agree to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 30% by 2020.

EU EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME Kyoto failures could cause emissions increase claims study Emissions from industrialised countries could be 9% above 1990 levels by 2020 because of loopholes stemming from the Kyoto protocol, claims a study by the Stockholm Environment Institute and Third World Network.

EU EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME IEA: global CO2 emissions remain constant in 2009 Global CO2 emissions did not fall last year as predicted by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

ENVIRONMENT Commission mulls revising Environmental Impact Assessment Directive The European Commission has launched a consultation on possible improvements to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive.

ENVIRONMENT SO2 emissions decline in EU EU emissions of sulphur oxides (SO2) fell by 20% in 2008, according to an annual emission inventory report published in July. The findings confirm a trend observed last year.

ENVIRONMENT BUSINESSEUROPE event: is NOx and SO2 trading smart policy? In order to pursue the decrease in industrial emissions witnessed in Europe since the 1990s, European companies need favourable, stable, consistent and predictable policy conditions.

ENVIRONMENT Commissioner suggests new energy efficiency legislation could be possible Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger hinted in July that new laws on energy efficiency could be introduced if current progress in meeting long term carbon emission reduction targets is too slow.

ENVIRONMENT European Parliament adopts bio-waste management resolution The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the bio-waste management green paper. It calls on the Commission to propose national bio-waste recycling targets to limit the amount of bio-waste available for the least desirable waste management solutions such as landfilling and incineration.

ENVIRONMENT Non-energy mineral extraction and Natura 2000 guidance published In July, the European Commission published its guidance on undertaking new non-energy extractive activities in accordance with Natura 2000 requirements.

ENVIRONMENT Business urged to face up to biodiversity impact An EU-funded report has warned companies that they must stop ignoring the problems created by their exploitation of ecosystems.

ENVIRONMENT Parliament backs new 2020 biodiversity target The European Parliament’s Environment Committee has backed the Commission’s proposed goal of halting biodiversity loss by the end of the decade.