ETS scheme approved. Poland feels “cheated” - Szyszko

With 19 votes for and nine against (including Poland), the EU has approved the Emission Trading System (ETS). The scheme, aimed at cutting carbon emissions by European industries by 43 percent in 2030 when compared with levels in 2005. However according to Poland's environment minister Jan Szyszko, Poland feels “cheated” by the deal. “This approach will destroy Poland's energy security, blocks Polish energy resources, such as coal. This has nothing to do with the Paris climate accord,” Szyszko said. Besides Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Latvia were against the proposed scheme. The cap-and-trade permit system aims to decrease limit on greenhouse gas emissions and allows companies to trade emissions allowances. The approved system calls for 2.2 percent increase each year. The proposed reforms would seek to reduce the long-standing over-supply of carbon credits in the market by cancelling 800 million allowances and introducing a new mechanism to cancel a further 200 million allowances if a set threshold is reached. The deal will now be voted on in the European Parliament, where a minimum of 16 member states is required to approve, representing at least 65 percent of the total EU population.