Auctioning of emissions allowance skyrockets

This year the state received record revenues from auctions of emission totaling 251.8 million euros, reported a Finnish language daily Savon Sanomat on Saturday.

The amount is more than two and a half times higher than last year's auction proceeds of emissions trading which amounted to 95.3 million euros.

According to the report, the figure took the state by surprise.

"Still in spring, it was estimated that the amount would be about 150 million euros," said industrial advisor Juhani Tirkkonen of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

Money from emissions trading is recognised as general government revenue, however, in the previous years it had not been earmarked.

"During the previous government, there was a political agreement that auctioning of emissions allowance be channeled to climate financing development cooperation. However, there is no such agreement in the current government," Tirkkonen said.

According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the aim of the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) is to keep the greenhouse gas emissions of industrial and energy production plants and flights within the European Economic Area (EEA) below the EU-wide emissions cap for the emissions trading sector.