Estonia to appeal EU ruling cutting carbon emissions

(TALLINN) - The Estonian government decided Thursday to launch a legal challenge to the European Commission's decision to slash its 2008-2012 carbon dioxide emissions quota.

Estonia decided to file a lawsuit at the European Court because the EU's executive arm rejected its proposed quota of an annual 24 million tonnes and instead allocated the Baltic country a total of 12.7 million tonnes a year, the Baltic News Service (BNS) agency reported.

The commission is responsible for approving national governments' bids for carbon dioxide allocations as part of the 27-member European Union's move to curb emissions of what is one of the main gases held responsible for global climate change.

The Estonian government argues that the commission used flawed data to set its ceiling and that the EU body also overstepped its authority.

Estonia charges that its quota was miscalculated because the commission treats shale oil, the main fuel used to generate electricity in Estonia, as equivalent to brown coal, even though it produces slightly less carbon dioxide.

The EU's ex-communist member states have been working to overcome a legacy of slack environmental standards left by their former regimes, and several have made major strides over the past decade.

However, they are concerned that a big clamp-down will dent their efforts to bridge the economic gap with the older western members of the EU.

Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have also challenged their quotas.

The commission's allocations affect industries such as metallurgy, oil refining and power stations which have a high energy consumption and are responsible for nearly half of EU carbon dioxide emissions.