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  4. Spain and Poland agree ET contract

Spain and Poland agree ET contract

 

World Cement,

Poland and Spain have agreed a €25 million emissions trading contract, the first of its kind for Poland under the Kyoto Protocol.

A green scheme

The agreement has been facilitated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB)’s joint Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund (MCCF), which enables state shareholders of the EBRD and EIB to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets. It covers countries from across Europe and central Asia where the EBRD operates, and is also open to non-governmental participants. Spain has invested in this fund to develop transactions under the Green Investment Scheme.

Mutual benefits

The contract will help Spain to meet its Kyoto obligations whilst simultaneously providing grant finance to projects that reduce GhG emissions in Poland through a programme known as the Green Investment Scheme. The scheme enables Poland to invest proceeds from the sale of carbon emission credits, called Assigned Amount Units (AAUs), in activities that will help to mitigate and hopefully reduce GhG emissions. Examples of such projects include biomass, biogas electricity and heat production, and related actions that will make better use of renewable energy sources.

Polish environment minister Maciej Nowicki was present at the signing of the agreement, and highlighted that: 'The Polish Green Investment Scheme has been designed to ensure effective and transparent management of revenues from the sale of AAUs (Assigned Amount Units) and monitoring the subsequent environmental impact.'

Perfect partners

Poland has significant AAUs surplus, equivalent to 500 million t of CO2 for the period 2008 – 2012. The country will pursue other similar transactions within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol in its efforts to invest in environmental protection measures.

The greening program will be managed by Poland’s National Environmental Fund, with additional co-financing from the EBRD and the EIB. The fund will leverage up to €75 million and total investment is expected to exceed €100 million.

For Spain this is the fourth transaction of AAUs. It supports the country’s efforts to develop International Emissions Trading as a flexible mechanism that complements Kyoto Protocol implementation tools like the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the Joint Initiative (JI).

For more information,visit the EIB website
 

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