The European Commission said on Thursday the suspension of trading in its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will end in phases once registries prove their security after a series of breaches around the European Union.
“For us at this stage, it is theft, not sabotage. It could be possible that it is concerted action, because the recent incidence, they happened within the last five days. The member states are now investigating. We are in close contact,” the Commission’s climate action spokeswoman Maria Kokkonen told a regular briefing.
Member states will discuss the issue on Friday and are trying to identify the source of the breach.
“It might be one source, it might be many,” she said.
Asked when trade might resume, she said: “It depends (on) the action and the speed of reaction of the member states. The sooner they increase the security measures, the sooner we can reopen the systems.”
The Commission closed down much of its flagship Emissions Trading Scheme on Wednesday after the theft of permits from the Czech carbon registry prompted five countries to shut their national registries.
