Text tabled : A6-0406/2008

  Czesław Adam Siekierski (PPE-DE). – (PL) Mr President, the emissions trading system will play a key role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. It remains a particularly controversial subject in the new Member States, including Poland, which believe that the basis used to calculate the achieved result is incorrect. In fact, it is not just the 20% indicator that matters, but the reference year used to interpret it. In the package, this year is set at 2005, but the countries who oppose this choice argue that that correct reference year would be 1990.

Carbon dioxide emissions have already been considerably reduced in these countries following the economic changes they have implemented. The measures taken during this period involved significant effort and high economic cost. Thus, the proposed package of solutions is still considered as lacking objectivity, and that it fails to take into account the cuts that have been made up to this point and the economic potential of individual countries, while promoting certain of the old EU Member States.