Enel warns EU over emissions rule change

Enel, Italy's largest power company, has warned European ministers against changes to rules for carbon emissions permits, saying tighter restrictions could hit investment in projects to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The Italian group is the world's largest investor in the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which allots carbon credits to reward emissions reduction projects in emerging economies. These credits can be used to meet obligations for carbon permits under the European Union's emissions trading scheme; an opportunity which has been worth tens of millions of euros to Enel.

However, there is pressure to change the rules to make some types of project, which have been heavily used by Enel, ineligible for meeting EU commitments.

Wikipedia: Clean Development Mechanism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Development_Mechanism

United Nations: UNFCCC: Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) http://cdm.unfccc.int/index.html

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