Press releases: Energy
Calculations on allocation of free emission allowances for period 2013–2020 submitted to the Commission
On 29 February 2012, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy took a decision on preliminary allocation of emission allowances concerning installations falling within the scope of EU Emissions Trading Scheme in Finland for the period 2013–2020. The decision and the installation-specific calculations were simultaneously submitted to the European Commission for assessment.
After 2012, industries included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, i.e. the EU emissions trading sector, shall no longer have national emission reduction targets. For the emissions trading sector the reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions set by the EU mean a 21-per cent reduction by 2020 in comparison with 2005 emission levels. The installations falling within the sphere of emissions trading scheme are responsible for about one half of the greenhouse gas emissions in Finland and 45 per cent for those within the EU as a whole.
Almost 500 installations located in Finland will be allocated emission allowances for free in the period 2013–2020. Combined, preliminary allocation of free allowances to these installations is equal to an average of 22.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. District heating production covers approximately 6 million tons of the total emission allowances a year, iron and steel industry some 6 million tons, and pulp and paper industry approximately 5 million tons. Final amounts of allowances to be allocated free of charge to installations will fall slightly from the preliminary figures, when the Commission calculates the correction factor for each year.
The allocation criteria of emission allowances for the trading period 2013–2020 are prescribed in the Emission Trading Directive, and the rules for the harmonised free allocation of emission allowances issued by the Commission under the Directive.
All emission allowances to energy-intensive industries that face international competition are allocated free of charge on the basis of EU-level benchmarks. District heating production and other industries are allocated slightly over one half of the amount of free emission allowances calculated on the basis of EU benchmarks, the share of free allocation falling each year. Free emission allowances are no longer allocated for power production with the exception of power produced from industrial gaseous effluents. Slightly over half of the emission allowances are auctioned.
The Commission assesses the preliminary amounts of installation-specific emission allowances of all member states. After this the Commission calculates a correction factor for each year to be applied throughout the EU, by which the preliminary amounts of emission allowances per installation are adjusted to the total amount of allowances to be allocated.
The Ministry of Employment and the Economy will take decisions on the final allocation of emission allowances for the period 2013–2020 after the Commission has approved the calculations submitted by the ministry and defined the correction factor for each year.
For further information, please contact:
Päivi Janka, Ministerial Counsellor, MEE, tel. +358 10 606 4833
Juha Rajala, Senior Researcher, MEE, tel. +358 10 606 4829
Perttu Wasenius, Senior Adviser, MEE, tel.´+358 010 606 46110
