In a letter sent on 21 August by WWF and addressed to the Swedish EU Presidency, the organisation urged governments to modify what it believes is a ‘legally invalid’ provision contained in the draft IPPC directive, preventing Member States from introducing CO2 emission standards. Currently, the text states that the operating permits of installations in industries already included in the EU emissions trading scheme, shall not include emission limit values for greenhouse gases.

According to the NGO this prohibition goes against European Community Treaty rules, saying that Article 176 of the Treaty guarantees that Member States can take ‘more stringent’ environmental protection measures provided they are in line with the Treaty. WWF argues that this provision may have the effect of misleading Member States into believing that they cannot impose emission limits on greenhouse gases under the directive, when in fact such a provision cannot be made legally enforceable.

The letter explains that ‘Such a prohibition represents in our view a maximum or complete harmonisation as it excludes the possibility to use a proven regulatory tool to limit emissions from specified activities in what is the 'general' and 'integrated' European regime for industrial pollution control’.

The letter has been sent ahead of the Council meeting, when Ministers will try and reach a common position on the directive, with environment Ministers having already reached a political agreement on the text in June. The NGO also plans to mobilise MEPs at the European Parliament in the autumn, once the second reading begins, with several MEPs already favouring the inclusion of emission performance standards in the directive.