HC Deb 07 September 2004 vol 424 c941W
Richard Burden

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she has sought about the emissions level that has been established for the automotive sector under the(a) German, (b) French, (c) Spanish and (d) Italian national allocation plans; what this represents as a proportion of actual emissions in 2002; and if she will make a statement. [186276]

Mr. Morley

We understand that the French, Spanish and Italians are proposing to adopt a narrow interpretation of the scope of the Directive that will exclude, inter alia, installations in the automotive sector from the scheme in those member states. We have already raised this issue with the Commission and will continue to press for them to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

The German allocation plan does not contain information on sectoral or individual installation allocations so it is not possible to provide an assessment of the emissions levels for their automotive sector. We are pressing Germany and other member states to publish the details of the projections used in their allocation plans to improve transparency in the assessment process.

Richard Burden

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she last met representatives of the automotive sector to discuss the UK implementation of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. [186277]

Mr. Morley

Officials from Defra and DTI have met with representatives of the automotive sector on a number of occasions, including a meeting with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) in February to discuss the draft National Allocation Plan. Defra officials have attended meetings of the DTI-led Vehicle Industry Policy and European Regulation (VIPER) meetings to discuss the implementation of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).

Representatives of the automotive sector have also attended numerous Government seminars covering a range of issues related to the EU ETS.

Officials from Defra, DTI, Treasury and Number 10 are also due to be meeting with SMMT officials in early August to discuss the EU ETS.