The commission said that the holding of auctions prior the beginning of the third trading period was approved under the revised Emissions Trading Directive of 2009.
It emphasized that early auctions were appropriate in view of the widespread commercial practice in the electricity sector of selling power on a forward basis and purchasing the required inputs when marketing their output. The commission took note that the practice is also applicable on carbon credits.
The volume of early auctions was determined by an amendment to the European Union’s E.T.S. auctioning regulation.
The commitment also led to the finalizing of the two joint procurement agreements of the European member states and the commission’s climate change committee. The two joint procurement agreements indicated the acquisition procedures for a single monitor and a common platform intended for the auction of the carbon credits.
The commission’s climate action committee said that almost 60 percent of the total allowances to be auctioned in the third trading will enter the market through the common platform.
But three European Union member states – Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom – said that they have chosen not to participate in the planned common auction platform, and will choose their own individual platforms instead.
The commission intends to launch a call for tenders for procuring legal services together with auxiliary accounting and/or financial services, which was expected to assist them with regards to the joint procurement procedures.
It also noted that signing of the two procurement agreements, its implementation, and the approval of the tender specifications from the member states will take some time to accomplish. It aimed to launch the tenders along with the European Union member states by the end of this year. (A. N. P. Cabrera)
