Germany expects to see European Commission in court over ETS

Germany expects to face the European Commission in court over the country’s decision to exclude polymers when accounting for emissions from that sector from the EU emission trading system (ETS).

“As of now, it looks like as if an ultimate decision on whether polymers are to be included in the scope of the EU ETS has to be taken by the European Court of Justice,” a spokeswoman for the German carbon registry DEHSt told ICIS in an email late last week.

Last week, the commission published a second-stage complaint in EU infringement proceedings that formally called on Germany to fully transpose the ETS directive and extend the scope of emission accounting to polymers ( see EDCM 16 April 2014 ).

The country would have several months to respond, a commission spokesman said, to avoid court action.

However, a DESHt spokeswoman explained Germany’s decision to adhere to its decision arose from a disagreement over how polymers are defined.

“While the Commission believes that polymers fall under the definition of ‘bulk organic chemicals’ (ETS-Directive, Annex I), Germany is of the opinion that polymers are not covered by this definition.” She added that the country’s national ETS legislation includes an “exhaustive list of bulk organic chemicals” but the list excludes polymers. Marie-Louise du Bois