Polish lawmakers appeal for softening of ETS

The emission trading system (ETS), considered to be the cornerstone of EU law to cut greenhouse gases, has been challenged by a group of Polish lawmakers, who claim the laws are damaging economic growth.

The Solidarna Polska group is planning to call on the EU regulator to propose a revision of the 2008 climate package that bolstered the European carbon cap-and-trade program, according to Bloomberg. The group will require the support of one million EU citizens from at least one- quarter of the 27 nations in the bloc in order to be successful.

Ludwik Dorn, deputy of the Solidarna Polska group, said: "We’ll be calling on the commission to suspend the implementation of the climate package. While we realize that the chances for a suspension are not great, we’ll be giving the governments a card to play in talks about the system."

The EU law was established to cut greenhouse gasses by 20 per cent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. The programme imposes pollution limits on more than 11,000 utilities and manufacturers.

Posted by Joseph Hutton