EU governments push for deadline delays in CO2-cut cash scheme

2014-10-10 08:55 by Anja Reitz

The measure, proposed by the European Commission following pressure from seven EU member states including Britain, France and Germany, could throw a lifeline to some projects facing challenges to comply with the EU's 2.1-billion euro ($2.7 billion) scheme to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The first recipients under the so-called NER300 programme had been due to make their final investment decisions by the end of 2014, and be operational by the end of 2016.

But according to an Oct. 3 email sent by the Commission to government officials and seen by Reuters, the seven EU member states have requested that all deadlines under the scheme be pushed back by two years.

Those projects awarded funding in the second round, which were announced in July, would face respective 2018 and 2020 deadlines for final investment decisions and activation.

"Instead of a day of reckoning coming two months from now, the viability of awarded projects will not be known for two years at the earliest," said Greg Arrowsmith, an independent consultant and owner of NER300.com - a website devoted to news and analysis on the programme.

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Source: Reuters, Tue 07 Oct 2014

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