The temporary suspension of the auctioning of emissions quotas (freezing of quotas) in order to stabilise the carbon market is now nearly a reality. Following the formal adoption of the amendment to the directive establishing the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS - Directive 2003/87/EC), on 16 December 2013 (see Europolitics 4774) the Climate Change Committee - which includes member state experts and the European Commission - approved, on 8 January, a Commission regulation establishing practical measures for this operation.
The…