UK firms fined for breaking EU carbon rules

Guardian Unlimited; For the first time today British companies were penalised for noncompliance with a European scheme to control carbon emissions. The Environment Agency fined four companies £750,000 out of 535 after they failed to account for their greenhouse gases under the European Union's emissions trading scheme. The companies must either reduce their emissions or buy permits from other companies to allow them to pollute above their agreed limits. They also have to submit details of the emissions and allowances to the Environment Agency.

Alphasteel, a steel recycling company from Newport, in south Wales, was fined £564,560. It had failed to hand in details of its emission allowances for 2005 by the deadline of April 30 2006. It had also emitted more than it was allowed, without having bought permission to do so. strong>Daniel Platt, a tile company from Stoke-on-Trent, was fined £122,100, having missed the deadline by 15 weeks. Mars (UK), trading as Masterfoods, was fined £52,532. It had missed the allowance deadline by 32 weeks for its pet food company in Peterborough. And Scandstick, an adhesive company in Cambridgeshire, was fined £19,619. It had failed to account for 729 tonnes of verified emissions for 2005.

The fines were based on the amounts of carbon dioxide emitted. The firms have two months to appeal.
Announcing the penalties, Barbara Young, chief executive of Environment Agency, said it was "vital that everyone plays by the rules". She said: "The Stern review explained unequivocally that if we do not reduce emissions by at least 60% over the next 40 years, the cost in human and economic terms will be catastrophic." She also explained why the fines had been imposed. "Unfortunately, four companies out of 535 in England and Wales failed to surrender sufficient carbon dioxide allowances by the due date to cover their emissions. This is the cornerstone of the scheme. As such they are liable to automatic civil penalties."
Last week the European commission reduced by 7% the scheme's total greenhouse gas allowance for the next four years.