I propose to take Questions Nos. 103, 120, 132, 157 and 213 together.
The Government has designated €270 million for the purchase of carbon allowances over the period 2007-2013. This sum is in addition to €20 million provided in my Department's Vote in 2006.
According to Greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe 2006, published by the European Environment Agency, ten EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) have decided to use the flexible mechanisms to meet their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. Total financial resources of approximately €2,830 million have been allocated for the five-year Kyoto Protocol commitment period to meet a combined purchasing commitment of 552.5 million allowances for the period. This corresponds to about one third of the required emissions reduction of 8% for the EU-15.
In 2006, Ireland invested €20 million in Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund operated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Five other EU Member States have invested in this fund; Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg, Spain and Sweden. Ireland has also signed agreements to invest €20 million in funds operated by the World Bank. As these funds have not yet been launched, I am not in a position at this time to say which other EU Member States may have invested in these funds.
The types of projects that are supported by funds operated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank include:
renewable energy projects such as solar, biomass, wind, and geothermal initiatives.
energy efficiency projects that reduce consumption of fossil fuels.
recovery and use of methane from, for example, waste landfills and waste-water treatment.
switching to fuels with lesser greenhouse gas intensity, for example from coal to natural gas.
While the purchase of allowances by parties to the Kyoto Protocol does not lead to domestic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for those parties, the flexible mechanism facility in the Kyoto Protocol recognises the equivalence in impact of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that take place anywhere in the world. The flexible mechanisms provide an essential nucleus for the development of a global carbon market and also promote the transfer of clean technology to developing countries.