Emissions Trading: important results for the ceramic industry

The Italian ceramic industry was at the centre of community negotiations on Climate Change held recently in Brussels. Although further technical study is required, the agreement reached within the European Council should guarantee Italian ceramic companies the free assignment of emission quotas in recognition that the production technologies they adopt are at the most advanced international levels.

The agreement substitutes the European Commission’s original proposal which entailed the assigning of emission rights by payment according to an auction mechanism, which would have severely penalised the ceramic sector without any tangible benefits for the environment.

The result, achieved through the intense efforts of the Ministry of the Environment, the Minister for Community Policies Andrea Ronchi and Confindustria chairman Emma Marcegaglia, now requires monitoring during application to ensure that the commitments made at a political level are not circumvented by bureaucratic mechanisms.