Slovakia’s excess emission quotas will continue to be sold in a direct sale, rather than through so-called climate exchanges or a mediator chosen by a selection procedure, as parliament rejected a proposal to amend the act on emissions trading on February 10, the TASR newswire wrote.
According to MP Tomáš Galbavý from the opposition Slovak Democratic and Christian Union party (SDKÚ) who submitted the proposal, the initiative was aimed at preventing the Environment Ministry from selling surplus emission units directly, thereby increasing the transparency of future deals.
Galbavý’s initiative came in the wake of the scandal that emerged after Slovakia sold its surplus carbon-dioxide emission quotas to the Interblue Group in 2008. The deal has come under a great deal of criticism, with the media and the opposition describing it as disadvantageous for the state.
“The company (Interblue) was chosen in a manner that provokes doubts as to whether the most advantageous offer was selected and whether Slovakia’s interests were harmed in a particularly serious way,” said Galbavý to TASR.
Speaking before parliament voted on his draft, Galbavý gave assurances that his initiative would boost the amount of funds flowing into Slovakia’s Environmental Fund, as emission credits would be sold for the maximum possible price and in a transparent way. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
