EC to appeal decision on Estonian, Polish carbon emissions

BRUSSELS - The European Commission has said that it will appeal a court decision granting higher Estonia and Polish greenhouse gas emissions.

The European Court in September that the EC, which is the EU's executive branch, was not allowed to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the two countries. Both countries rely on carbon-heavy forms of power, such as coal and shale oil, for energy.

"The commission is going to appeal... on several grounds," EC spokeswoman Barbara Helfferich told journalists Thursday.

The commission had tried to slash the the National Allocation Plan of Estonia by nearly half, AFP reported. Polands plan was cut by slightly more than one quarter.

The commission claims that the court interpreted its powers too narrowly, the spokeswoman said. She said the court has failed to understand the nature of the carbon market.

Latvia and Lithuania are in the process of lodging appeals similar to that of Estonia and Poland.