Warsaw (Puls Biznesu) – Poland may avoid problems concerning CO2 emission while the SO2 issues mean troubles either with the EU or the country’s power plants.
Within several weeks, the Polish companies emitting the carbon dioxide (CO2) will be allowed to join the international trade system of emission permits. The Ministry of Environment indirectly controls the projects to launch an electronic system of permits.
“We are nearly ready. We need the European Commission to approve of the register”, Malgorzata Typko, the temporary deputy director in the department of environment protection instruments in the Ministry of Environment said.
According to “Puls Biznesu” sources, the register should be ready for tests in a few days, while the EC representative to approve of the system is to visit Poland soon. Last week, the EC enumerated Poland among five countries delaying the implementation of emission permits trade.
While the implementation of the system will solve the problem, Poland still faces difficulties due to the sulfur dioxide emission. The deadline for more severe norms of January 1 2008 will not be met by Poland. The country has not presented to the EU its National Plan of SO2 Emission Reduction.
“There are no sanctions for countries which fail to present the plans”, Malgorzata Typko calmed down.
However, the country will have to present such a plan because big power plants (over 50 MW) will not be able to cut emission according to the LCP directive.
The problems concerns Adamow power plant, part of PAK group controlled by Zygmunt Solorz-Zak, Stalowa Wola (a state-owned enterprise to be transferred to PKE) and partly Skawina (privatized by U.S. PSEG, recently bought by Czech CEZ). The Ministry of Environment has not decided yet, what to do. It is possible to apply the directive with derogations providing that old installations will be allowed to work till the year 2015. Then, however, the EC will start investigation against Poland.