Slovenian emissions plan approved

Slovenia became the first new EU member state — and one of just five Union-wide — to gain approval for a national plan (Nap) for the EU greenhouse gas emission trading scheme. Three other states won conditional approval. The development marks an important step forward for the scheme, which is due for launch in January.

Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden were the other countries to win full approval for their Naps, while Austria, Germany and the UK have been given a list of changes before approval will be granted. Meanwhile, the Commission is to send Greece and Italy first warnings of possible court action for failing to submit their Naps for scrutiny. All other EU-15 countries, plus five of the 10 new member states, have now sent at least draft plans, the Commission said. Its assessment of these is due in September.

“Slovenia has made swift progress towards Kyoto Protocol commitments mainly on the basis of a well-prepared operational plan for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions which defines the measures for all relevant sectors,” said Milena Marega, director of REC Country Office Slovenia. The plan was prepared in close communication with main actors from the energy sector and industry, Marega explained. The allocation plan includes 98 heavy industrial companies with total GHG emissions of 26.3 millions tonnes of carbon dioxide.

According to its ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, Slovenia has committed to cut its 1990 level annual emissions by 8 percent during the commitment period of 2008-2012.

GMO corn stuck in EU’s teeth

EU governments in July could not agree on whether to allow imports of GMO corn for human consumption, but the European Commission approved the same product’s use for animal feed, the Associated Press reported. The controversy concerns US-based Monsanto’s Roundup Ready corn, which is widely grown in the United States and elsewhere. The patented crop, which is engineered to resist the firm’s Roundup herbicide, was approved by the European Food Safety Authority last year.

EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom has backed Monsanto’s application, and nine EU countries gave their assent — the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and Britain. Nine others voted against — Latvia, Denmark, Cyprus, Malta, Italy, Greece, Austria, Portugal and Luxembourg. Hungary, Slovenia, Germany and Spain abstained, while Estonia and Poland expressed no view. Environmental NGOs across Europe remain largely opposed to GMOs.

“GMO’s favour pharmaceutical companies, large seed companies, the petrochemical industry and the pesticide industry,” said Matthew Hayes, of Hungary’s Open Garden Foundation, a group that promotes organic farming. “They provide no credible benefits for small-scale producers or subsistence farmers.”

Environment ministers split along similar lines last month when considering Roundup Ready corn imports for animal feed.

That application was approved Monday by the European Commission. Under EU rules, if ministers don’t agree in 90 days, the Commission decides. However, imports for feed can’t start until the equivalent approval has been granted for food. That means they will have to wait until after September 29, when the food application is expected to go back to the Commission.