Malta late on EU emissions scheme

Malta is a month behind schedule in submitting plans for the EU emissions trading scheme scheduled to start in 2008.

Sources yesterday confirmed that Malta had until the end of last month to submit a detailed National Allocation Plan covering the government's environmental plans for 2008-2013.

"Malta is, however, not alone in this as there are other member states that are dragging their feet. We are preparing the necessary letters to the governments involved warning them of legal sanctions."

According to an EU Directive and in line with the Kyoto Protocol, EU member states have to cut their global carbon dioxide emissions by nine per cent by 2013.

In order to reach its targets, in 2005 the EU set in motion a new mechanism known as the Emissions Trading Scheme that enables greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector and energy-intensive industrial plants in the 25 EU member states to be cut at the least cost to the economy.

With this scheme, pollutant installations are allocated a certain number of carbon dioxide emission allowances by their governments per year (one allowance gives the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide). Installations that keep their emissions below their total number of allowances, for instance by investing in more energy-efficient equipment, can sell their surplus allowances to those that emit more than their allocated allowances. This "cap and trade" approach ensures emissions are cut wherever it is the cheapest to do so.

As part of the scheme, the Commission has to approve National Allocation Plans (NAP) prepared by every member state, covering the amount of emissions each "pollutant installation" is allowed. The first plans covered the first three-year period of the scheme ending in 2007.

Although Malta is not bound by the obligations of the Kyoto Protocol as it is still considered to be a developing country, it is still bound to send all the details to the Commission and to comply with the Emissions Trading scheme rules. Malta is not considered a big pollutant and its carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 amounted to only 0.04 per cent of all the emissions of the 25 member states. The latest data available show that the only two pollutant installations, that is the power stations of Delimara and Marsa, produced almost two million tones of carbon dioxide in 2003. This is much less than the almost nine million tonne allocation granted to the island by the Commission for the first three-year period.

Malta is already facing EU legal action over another issue related to this scheme. Last May, the Commission sent Malta a first warning letter calling on it to comply with the regulations which stipulate that all member states have to set up a national registry in the form of a standardised electronic database as part of the Emissions Trading Scheme.

This should have been complied with by the end of 2004.