Germans ‘won’t go to court’ over emissions plan

Germany will not take the European Commission to court over its rejection of the German carbon dioxide (CO2) emission trading plan for 2008-12, according to Germany’s environment minister Sigmar Gabriel.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday (23 January), Gabriel contradicted reports from the German economy ministry that the Commission could soon face legal action over its rejection of the German national allocation plan (NAP) for CO2 emission trading.

"This is not the decision of the German government," said Gabriel, adding that he did not think court action was a good idea.

NAPs are the building blocks of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which allows companies to buy and sell permits to emit CO2. The Commission last December told Germany to cut its proposed emission permit allowance by 2.6%.

The environment minister said Germany was still discussing changes to the NAP and hoped to have reached "a clear situation" by the end of this week (26 January).

Although he ruled out court action and admitted that Germany had allocated too many permits for the 2005-07 emission trading period, Gabriel said Germany was unhappy with the cut proposed by the Commission for the second phase. "The discussion now is not about the emission cap, but about the method used to agree the cap," he said.

Germany will not take the European Commission to court over its rejection of the German carbon dioxide (CO2) emission trading plan for 2008-12, according to Germany’s environment minister Sigmar Gabriel.