UK to Oppose 'Carbon Fee' on High-Polluting Nations

                                                                                         

Britain will oppose EU moves to impose a "carbon fee" on imports from highpolluting nations such as the United States and China, the Government warned. European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso raised the prospect on Monday that exporters in countries with lax emission controls could be required to buy EU carbon allowances if they want to trade in Europe.
The move is designed to ensure that firms in the EU - where climate change controls are tighter - are not put at a competitive disadvantage. The proposal has caused anger in Washington, where the White House has already described it as a tariff barrier and warned that it would resist it.
Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks also expressed concern about the plan. "We are against any measures which might look like trade barriers," he said. "There is always the danger that the protectionists in Europe - and they do exist - could use this as a kind of secret weapon to bring about protectionism." Mr Wicks said the UK would favour "a more sensitive approach", with allowances for European manufacturers so that they were not at a competitive disadvantage.

Velimir Lackovic
http://www.energetika.co.yu

About the author:
Velimir Lackovic runs internet portal "Energetika" ( http://www.energetika.co.yu )
dedicated to renewable energy sources,oil gas and energy efficiency. Velimir has
completed gratuadte studies in power systems engineering and
has industry experiance of over 20 years in this field.

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