The European Union on Wednesday ordered tougher greenhouse gas emission targets to meet its commitments under the Kyoto protocol to combat global warming.
The move was welcomed by carbon traders and by some in the business community, although some industries’ opposition to stricter curbs on emissions associated with the consumption of fossil fuels led countries to submit unambitious plans to the European Commission in the first place. Traders and companies covered by the scheme want to avoid a repeat of the chaos that hit the carbon trading market in April-May, when it emerged more permits had been allocated in the first phase of the scheme, from 2005-08, than businesses needed. This resulted in sharp falls in the price of carbon and criticism that the scheme had been mismanaged.
