The European Union has taken a further step toward tightening the greenhouse gas emissions of its member states. The organisation has conditionally accepted the pollution plans of Poland and Czech for the 2008-2012 period (National Allocation Plans - NAPs), provided these countries accept further cuts in their planned CO2 emissions. The French Plan was also accepted, pending a minor modification request. The UK's plan, which allows for 246 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, was wholly accepted previously. The EU has to date assessed 17 of the plans submitted by European Union countries and has sent most of them back, demanding further cuts.

The EU's robust stance in enforcing CO2 reductions is seen as key to the continued success of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, as we get close to the start of the Second Phase of the Scheme. From 2008, the Scheme will cover over 11,000 industrial installations and a total volume of nearly 1.6 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. The success of the Scheme is critical to the EU's goal of reaching the Kyoto Protocol target, which is to achieve a net reduction of 8% of greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 1990 emission levels.