Newsbytes: Political Climate Change In Europe

By Dr. Benny Peiser of The GWPF

Conservatives in the European Parliament delivered a setback for European Commission plans to erase tax benefits for diesel fuel, saying that a period of austerity and high fuel costs is not the time for such moves. The vote also calls for changes to the Commission’s proposed minimum carbon tax on emissions from households, farms and the transport industry not already covered under the EU’s Emissions Trading System. The Parliament’s recommendations are non-binding. But they lay the groundwork for anticipated changes in the Council of Ministers, where Poland has already blocked moves to impose stronger emission-reductions obligations, and at a time when high fuel prices may tame the political appetite for higher taxes. —EurActiv, 20 April 2012

The European Commission has decided to carry out a full study into the impact of proposed fuel quality laws on business and markets, delaying until next year any ruling on how to rank the polluting effect of oil from tar sands, an EU official said. Ministers had been expected to vote on the regulations in June as part of EU efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said EU member states would not be asked to decide until early 2013 on the scheme, part of the EU’s Fuel Quality Directive, which would rank tar sands oil as more polluting than other fuels. “We did not have a qualified majority against or in favour. We want to gain the support of those who are in doubt,” the source said. –Barbara Lewis, Reuters, 20 April 2012

A European Commission plan to boost the carbon market is unfeasible and could bankrupt Polish companies, Poland’s environment minister said on Thursday. European Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard announced a review of the auctioning profile for the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which could limit the number of allowances available and help tackle a glut that has kicked the market to record lows. EU ministers said there was widespread support for action, but Poland, which is heavily reliant on carbon-intensive coal is worried about the rising cost of offsetting emissions. Asked what impact the Commission’s proposal would have on Poland, the nation’s Environment Minister Marcin Korolec told Reuters: “Bankruptcy of companies.” –John Acher, Reuters, 20 April 2012

There’s a large new row developing in British politics — with potential for another major row between Britain and the European Union. For the last few months the “Green Agenda” of the Coalition government has been unraveling for one reason after another. If shale gas can be “fracked” cheaply, then it will undercut such “renewables” as wind power, however heavily they are subsidized — and it will also undercut coal and nuclear power. This shift is very good for Britain, of course, but it cuts against some very large domestic vested interests — all the renewable companies, landowners who rent out their land for wind farms, the Green movement, and not least the ideological interests of one of the governing parties. So the shift is in its early stages, and it will be some time, maybe not until after the next election, that it is fully reflected in a rational British energy policy. –John O’Sullivan, National Review, 19 April 2012

In a controversial move that promises to rattle markets, the government of Argentina announced the re-nationalization of YPF, a major subsidiary of Spain’s Repsol. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Argentina’s president, accused Repsol of failing to keep up with investment promises, while funneling profits out of the country via dividend payments. Behind the scenes, there are two major themes guiding this story. First and foremost is Argentina’s energy crisis, followed closely by the discovery of massive reserves in shale rock in the Argentine mainland. –Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes, 17 April 2012