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EU Regulator Seeks Mandate for Talks on Link With Swiss CO2 Plan
2010-11-05 11:51:34.329 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union regulator said it
will seek a mandate from member states to open negotiations on
linking the bloc's cap-and-trade carbon market, the world's
largest, with Switzerland's emissions trading system.
The EU program covers 27 nations in the bloc as well as
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein and linking it to the Swiss
system would be the first process to cooperate with a third
country, the European Commission said in a statement in Brussels
today. The EU aims to create a carbon market embracing 33
nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development by 2015.
"Linking the EU ETS with the Swiss system is another step
toward building an OECD-wide emissions trading market which can
later be extended to include more advanced developing
countries," EU Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said.
The commission said last month it had already started
technical talks with Switzerland. Once the mandate is approved
by member states official negotiations will be opened to link
the two programs after Switzerland has completed a legislative
review of its system, according to the statement.
"As the carbon market is the key tool for delivering
emission reductions at least cost, these developments will
facilitate international action to achieve the deep emission
cuts that will be needed to keep global warming below 2 degrees
Celsius," Hedegaard said.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Alex Devine
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
