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8 August 2008 - The European Union and the United Nations have agreed to start swapping carbon trading permits in October, the European Commission has announced.
This will allow European companies to gain a permit to pollute at home if they invest in projects that cut greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere in the world.
Businesses in the EU such as power generation companies and steel makers will be able to support CO2-reduction projects in developing countries organized under the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol in return for credits in the EU's carbon trading program. They will be able to sell these permits if they don't need them — giving them a financial incentive to become cleaner.
The U.N. Kyoto Protocol allows rich nations to offset some of their greenhouse gas emissions if they pay for projects to reduce carbon dioxide releases in poorer countries. These can range from tree-planting to replacing polluting coal-fired power plants with cleaner alternatives.
Carbon trading is at the heart of the European Union's push to cut carbon dioxide emissions by one-fifth by 2020, a move it acknowledges will burden the economy with costs. However, it says these will be easier to bear than the full impact of climate change.
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