Pilot project in the Baltic Sea

In 2009, the EU Commission plans to establish a project with a value of EUR 2 million with the intention to “Cut sulphur emissions and nitrogen oxides in the Baltic Sea by launching a pilot emission trading scheme between stakeholders which are willing to participate on a voluntary basis”.

Until August 7, member states and the industry can hand over proposals for the design of the emissions trading scheme.The EU Commission also wants to “include shipping in research and preparatory work of the Commission to complement its ongoing work in order to identify and define the conditions for a possible trading system for both SO2 and NOx in future legislation.” In 2008, the European Commission initiated two studies focusing on a trading scheme. Through the first study the EU Commission has started to investigate the legal and technical feasibility of establishing an open system of emissions trading between ships and land-based emission sources in the EU for emissions of SO2 and NOx. In the second study the EU-commission investigates the feasibility of using remote sensing to identify ships emitting substantially more air pollutants than the required legal limits in areas such as the Baltic Sea, North Sea and English Channel.

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