Eurobrief September 2009

EDITORIAL ETS: ECOFYS recommends clinker benchmark in cement industry September 2009 - On 10 September 2009 ECOFYS, the consultant appointed by the European Commission to study benchmarks for the purpose of allocating free allowances, recommended the adoption, in the cement industry, of the EU-wide clinker benchmark supported by CEMBUREAU. Looking at the possibility to benchmark clinker or cement, ECOFYS opted for the first solution mainly on the ground of workability.

CEMBUREAU CEMBUREAU industry open week / 23 September - 4 October CEMBUREAU has launched its Cement Industry Open Week, which will run from 23 September until 4 October. Events are being held across Europe in order to highlight the role played by concrete in relation to sustainable construction.

EU EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME Poland and Estonia win NAP appeal The Court of First Instance has ruled that the European Commission exceeded its powers of review of National Allocation Plans (NAPs) of Estonia and Poland.

CEMBUREAU CEMBUREAU at cement sustainability initiative (CSI) in Brazil CEMBUREAU took part in a recent meeting of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), a member-led programme of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

EU EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME 164 sectors vulnerable to carbon leakage The European Commission has released its draft list of sectors at risk of carbon leakage.

OTHER NEWS New industrial dust limits discussed Parties to the 1999 pan-European Gothenburg protocol on air pollution discussed stricter limits for dust emissions at a meeting of the UN’s Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)in early September.

EU EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME Swedish Environment Minister speaks to Environment Committee The Swedish Environment Minister, Andreas Carlgren, spoke to the European Parliament’s Environment Committee at the beginning of September, asking it to continue to push for a 30% global reduction in carbon emissions.

ENVIRONMENT France, UK and Germany low-carbon front runners France, the UK and Germany are front-runners in the transition to a low-carbon economy according to a new report produced by the London-based not-for-profit organisation E3G and the Australian Climate Institute.

ENVIRONMENT 'No decision' on climate change portfolio President Barroso told Green MEPs on 9 September that no decision had been made on whether DG Environment’s climate policy portfolio would be transferred to a new European Commission department on energy.

ENVIRONMENT Sweden to prioritise climate change negotiations In an address to the European Parliament’s ITRE Committee in the first week of September, Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Industry, Maud Olofsson, spoke of the need to ‘send a clear message to the international climate negotiations in December in Copenhagen’.

BUILDINGS & BUILDING MATERIALS EPBD: working party examining amendments The Working Party on Energy has met a number of times this month to discuss proposed amendments to Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy performance of buildings.

HEALTH AND SAFETY Amendment to REACH test methods regulation published The first amendment to the Regulation on test methods for chemicals under REACH (Reg 440/2008) has been published in the European Union (EU)’s Official Journal.

HEALTH AND SAFETY REACH - ECHA calls for information on chemical toxicity The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has made a call for information on the reproductive toxicity of a specific chemical substance in September.

HEALTH AND SAFETY REACH - Tools to help firms submit C&L notifications to be made available The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has said that further IT tools to help companies submit classification and labelling (C&L) notifications are expected to be available in February or March next year.

HEALTH AND SAFETY REACH - Industry to see proposed SDS changes before end of year Industry is likely to be able to see the text of agreed changes to Safety Data Sheet (SDS) requirements before the end of the year, according to ECHA.

HEALTH AND SAFETY REACH - Concern over confidentiality of ECHA information Concerns regarding the confidentially of information submitted by companies in REACH IT and REACH Information Portal for Enforcement were raised during ECHA’s board meeting in September.

HEALTH AND SAFETY Verheugen warns against ECHA budget cut European Commission Vice President and Enterprise and Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen has warned against cutting the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)’s budget.

WASTE Establishment of waste implementation agency discussed A second informal stakeholder meeting to discuss the creation of an EU waste implementation agency was held earlier this month.

WASTE Commission action to annul shipments of waste regulation dismissed The European Court of Justice has dismissed a Commission request to annul Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste on account of the fact that it is based solely on Article 175(1) EC and not on Articles 175(1) and 133 EC.