Greeny News

Poland is demanding carbon trading ? 7 billion coal that does not exist

At least one coal are applying for Poland ? 7 billion of free allocation of carbon under the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) s little known exception '10c ' does not exist, a survey has found EurActiv.

Poland has requested ? 33 billion in free permits for coal plant Leczna, near the border with Ukraine, but no visible evidence that construction began on the new Sleep site.

Chris Davies, Liberal Democrat MEP and spokesman for the environment, said he was "outraged" by the lack of work Leczna. "The dirty tricks brigade is out and there is an attempt to cheat the system," he told EurActiv.

"I think there will be a huge upset if the European Commission finds ways to stretch or re-interpretation of the rules to take Poland," he added.

According to EU rules, exemptions from the ETS until 2020 may be granted if the central investment process was "physically initiated" before December 31, 2008, and if their greenhouse gas emissions permits were issued before June 30, 2011.

An official Polish government has told EurActiv that the coal Leczna fell into a category of sites that "construction in progress", even if the work was not finished.

20 kilometers pools of Stara Wies-Leczna Stasin place on July 5 revealed a rural landscape of green fields, orchards agriculture and rural roads.

No buildings, facilities, or other activities related to the control were observed in the coordinate system established by the regional authorities of the GDF SUEZ Group in June 2011.

"I do not know if there will be a plant," said a local farmer on the EurActiv website. "We continue to work the land as usual."

He and another farmer growing corn where both were to build 800 megawatts.

legal challenge

Customer Earth Environment Group, which calls into question the legality of the Leczna plant and 12 others, said that the Polish authorities did not even apply for a building permit in places like Leczna before December 2008 deadline.

EurActiv also seen pictures of the installation, Pólnoc claiming that Poland ? 98.3 million carbon allowances free, taken in November 2010. They also show empty fields without apparent installations or other construction projects.

"When you see an empty field, no other work there, it is clear that the process was not started physically hearing date three years ago, and application of Poland is not valid, "said Marcin Stoczkiewicz, lawyer of the Earth.

"The law has been violated," he added.

A well-placed source within the Polish Ministry of Environment, said that the government can not verify the installation '10c 187 sites, "and that, if the Commission found that certain companies had infringed the rules demand, Warsaw accept.

proposed plants had been compiled without checking the eligibility criteria, the source added.

environmental officials in Warsaw and finance ministries could not comment directly on the situation in Leczna but the spokesman of the Polish environment, Magda Sikorska, I added a warning.

"The 10c [Exception] not [be] used as a bargaining tool in any other area of ??European policy," he said.

for repeal 10c

United candidates had to issue permits for greenhouse gas emissions at such facilities earlier than June 30, 2011, to avoid an open stream of coal plants Central and Eastern European win free allowances which may distort the European market for energy.