Broad support for Danish initiative against industrial gas climate credits

The Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, Lykke Friis, has in the Environmental Council meeting today obtained wide support for a political declaration by member states to refrain from utilizing the heavily criticised credits from HFC-23 and adipic-acid climate projects.

The Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Lykke Friis stated: “It was to the benefit of the global climate that the EU decided earlier this year to ban the use of industrial gas credits in the ETS. But before we can say “mission accomplished” it is important that Member States follow the same restrictions in their own carbon credit programmes”

”Therefore, I’m very pleased that many Member States today have announced that they, along with Denmark, will refrain from using these credits for compliance after 2012.”

In January 2011, EU’s Climate Change Committee voted in favour of a ban against utilizing the criticised industrial gas credits from HFC-23 and adipic-acid projects in the third phase of the European Emission Trading System (ETS) from 2013 to 2020. These projects can reduce emissions of very harmful greenhouse gases from production of refrigerants and nylon at a very low cost.

The ban covers only companies subject the regulation of the EU ETS.  The Danish government would like EU member states to comply with the same principles and regulation outside the ETS, in the same manner as ETS companies must comply with under the ETS.