Carbon dioxide emission right prices have fallen sharply since the beginning of the year, making it seemingly impossible for the renewable enery sources (RES) special account target amount set by the energy ministry to be raised at auctions staged by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator.

CO2 emission right prices have fallen from roughly 8.5 euros per ton at the end of last year to 6.3 euros per ton early this year. According to forecasts, price levels will remain at low levels as a result of an increase in the supply of C02 rights throughout Europe by 10 percent compared to the previous year.

If CO2 emission right prices do remain subdued, then the 160 million-euro amount anticipated by the energy ministry for the RES special account will not be raised at the LAGIE auctions, creating a serious problem for the government and RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

Various market officials have campaigned on how the auction-related funds should be distributed, depending on sector interests.

A draft bill submitted to Parliament in late-December and later withdrawn included an energy ministry amendment on how the CO2 emission right amounts would be distributed.

According to this plan, a 60 percent share of CO2 right funds raised would be injected into LAGIE’s RES special account. The other 40 percent would be used to fund energy efficiency policies demanded by an EU directive, such as public building energy-related upgrades. Now ratified in Greek Parliament, this latter plan needs to be implemented.

The energy ministry has yet to retable the draft bill in Parliament as new factors that need to be confronted have emerged, including major-scale industrialist requests, such as a need to compensate industrial enterprises for CO2 emission right costs.