Eurobrief December 2011/January 2012

EDITORIAL CEMBUREAU views on recent EU-ETS developments January 2012 - The EU-ETS is still very much at the top of the EU agenda and, consequently, of that of CEMBUREAU. In this editorial, we are looking at some current developments on which CEMBUREAU has a view.

CLIMATE CHANGE ETS: CCC approves M&R Regulation On 14 December 2011, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) approved the following draft regulations: -Monitoring and Reporting (M&R) of greenhouse gas emissions; -Verification and Accreditation of verifiers in the EU ETS

CLIMATE CHANGE ETS: 12 Member State NIMs notified so far According to DG Climate, to date only 12 Member States (Cyprus, Estonia, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and the United Kingdom) have notified their National Implementation Measures (NIMs) to the European Commission.

CLIMATE CHANGE ETS: Inclusion of Aviation valid On 21 December 2011, the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed the validity of the Directive which includes aviation under the EU’s Emission Trading Scheme (ETS).

CLIMATE CHANGE ETS: Commission Consultation on Inclusion of Shipping On 19 January 2012, the European Commission launched a consultation on “Including maritime transport emissions in the EU's greenhouse gas reduction commitment”. This follows the lack of an international agreement at the end of 2011 which included international maritime emissions.

CLIMATE CHANGE EU low carbon Roadmap: latest developments On 31 January 2012, the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) of the European Parliament voted on rapporteur Chris Davies’ (Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, UK) draft report on a “Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050”.

CLIMATE CHANGE Commission focuses on impact of move to -30% on Member States The European Commission is currently evaluating the potential consequence at Member State level of moving towards a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. This follows on from the European Commissions Communication “Analysis of options to move beyond 20% GHG emission reductions and assessing the risk of carbon leakage”, published in May 2010.

CLIMATE CHANGE Commission adopts Energy Roadmap 2050 On 15 December 2011, the European Commission adopted a new Communication entitled "Energy Roadmap 2050". According to the Commission, this Roadmap provides a basis for the development of “a long-term European framework together with all stakeholders”.

CLIMATE CHANGE EESC highlights importance of Energy Intensive Industries On 8 December 2011, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted its opinion on "Energy Intensive Industries" (EIIs), stressing that the products manufactured by EIIs “are the basis for the value chain for all manufacturing sectors, where a large proportion of EU jobs are allocated.”

CLIMATE CHANGE Commission CDM study published In December 2011, the European Commission published the results of a study assessing the merits and shortcomings of the current Clean Development Mechanism.

CLIMATE CHANGE UK ECCC against introduction of a Carbon Price Floor, but calls for set aside On 26 January 2012, the UK Energy and Climate change Committee published a report entitled “UK ECCC - EU ETS” in which it expresses its opposition to the introduction of a Carbon Price Floor in the UK arguing the risk of carbon leakage within the EU.

CLIMATE CHANGE Climate Change discussions in Durban Global commitments have been delivered during the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Durban, South Africa. All 195 States (thus including Brazil, China and India) agreed on a roadmap drawing up a legal framework by 2015 for climate action by all countries, and to be implemented from 2020.

CLIMATE CHANGE Australia confirms negotiations on carbon trading with the EU In early December 2011, Australia’s negotiations with the EU regarding carbon market trading became official.

ENERGY Energy Efficiency Directive: latest developments On 20 December 2011, the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) of the European Parliament voted on rapporteur Peter Liese’s (Group of the European People's Party [Christian Democrats], Germany) draft opinion on the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED).

ENERGY Commission Consultation on Renewable Energy Strategy launched On 6 December 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the Renewable Energy Strategy, with the aim of adopting a Communication on this issue during the first half of 2012.

ENVIRONMENT EU Biodiversity Strategy: latest developments On 23 January 2012, the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) of the European Parliament debated rapporteur Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy’s (Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, the Netherlands) draft report on the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy.

ENVIRONMENT Quarry Rehabilitation Guidelines published for Cement Industry On 26 January 2012, the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) launched its Guidelines on Quarry Rehabilitation. This document provides practical guidance for managing the impacts of quarrying activities and ensuring that environments are properly revitalized.

ENVIRONMENT Commission adopts LIFE Funding Proposal On 12 December 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new LIFE programme. LIFE is “the EU’s financial instrument supporting environmental and nature conservation projects throughout the EU”.

ENVIRONMENT CEMBUREAU contributes to Ecodesign of Kilns Study On 25 January 2012, CEMBUREAU discussed with BIOS, the consultant in charge, the eco-design study related to industrial and laboratory furnaces and ovens, including cement kilns.

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY Resource Efficiency: latest developments in Parliament & Council On 25 January 2012, the Industry, Trade and Research Committee (ITRE) of the European Parliament voted on Kent Johansson’s (Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, Sweden) draft opinion on a Resource Efficient Europe.

CONSTRUCTION European Standardisation: IMCO draft report published On 4 January 2012, the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) published its draft report on the proposal for a regulation on European Standardisation.

CONSTRUCTION Commission Consultation on Sustainable Consumption and Production launched On 11 January 2012, the European Commission launched a consultation on “Delivering more Sustainable Consumption and Production”.

CONSTRUCTION Public Procurement Directives revision announced On 20 December 2011, the European Commission announced the revision of two of its public Procurement Directives. One of the Commission’s main objectives with these revisions is to facilitate a qualitative improvement in the use of public procurement by ensuring greater environmental criteria.

CEMBUREAU CEMBUREAU appoints new Chief Executive CEMBUREAU is pleased to announce the appointment of Koen Coppenholle as the Chief Executive of CEMBUREAU. Mr Coppenholle will take over this role upon the retirement of Dr Jean-Marie Chandelle on 1 July 2012.

OTHER NEWS ESMA confirms recommendations should not apply to Cement Industry On 6 January 2012, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) confirmed that the requirements of their recommendations regarding “mineral companies” should not apply to the cement industry.

OTHER NEWS Danish Presidency presents its Priorities On 16 December 2011, the Danish Presidency presented its priorities for the following six months.

OTHER NEWS Commission Consultation on Corporate Restructuring On 17 January 2012, the European Commission launched a consultation on corporate restructuring. The basis for the debate is a Commission Green Paper “Restructuring and anticipation of change: what lessons from the economic crisis”, which seeks to identify successful practices and policies in these fields.

OTHER NEWS Council calls on Commission to implement Competitiveness Proofing On 5 December 2011, the Competitiveness Council adopted Conclusions on Reinforcing Industrial Policy across the EU.

OTHER NEWS 2011 Competitiveness Report published On 17 January 2012, the European Commission published its 14th edition of the European Competitiveness Report.

OTHER NEWS Croatia to join EU in 2013 On 9 December 2011, Croatia signed its EU accession treaty and, as such, will officially become the EU’s 28th Member State on 1 July 2013.

UPCOMING MEETING/EVENTS 6th Cement, Construction and Technology conference and exhibition Istanbul, Turkey 7-8 February 2012 - Organiser: Our Metals & CTN Centre

UPCOMING MEETING/EVENTS Product Category Rules (PCR) stakeholder workshop Brussels, Belgium 28 February 2012 - Organiser: Tiles & Bricks Europe