欧盟轮值主席国爱尔兰提出了对欧盟碳市场的修改建议，将放缓工业免费排放配额的淘汰步伐，并豁免小型装置遵守新的脱碳要求，一份妥协文本周日显示。
The EU's Irish presidency has proposed changes to the bloc's carbon market that would slow the phase-out of free emissions permits for industry and exempt smaller installations from new decarbonisation requirements, a compromise text showed on Sunday.
欧盟成员国将于周三讨论该文本，这是关于欧盟委员会对欧盟排放交易体系进行审查的谈判的一部分。布鲁塞尔正在重新设计该体系，以实现欧盟到2040年将净温室气体排放量较1990年水平削减90%的具有法律约束力的目标。
The text, which EU countries will debate on Wednesday, is part of talks on the European Commission's review of the EU Emissions Trading System. Brussels is redesigning the scheme to meet the EU's legally binding goal of cutting net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 from 1990 levels.
排放交易体系涵盖发电、工业、航空和航运，通过要求企业每排放一公吨二氧化碳就上交一份配额，从而给碳定价。该体系旨在实现欧盟2030年气候目标，如果维持不变，将在2039年前将配额供应量削减至接近零。
The ETS, which covers power generation, industry, aviation and shipping, puts a price on carbon by requiring companies to surrender a permit for every metric ton of CO2 they emit. The scheme was designed to deliver the EU's 2030 climate target and, if left unchanged, would reduce the supply of permits to near zero by 2039.
每年，约57%的排放交易体系配额通过拍卖分配，其余免费分配给工业，以抑制其二氧化碳成本，帮助它们与不面临类似成本的外国竞争对手竞争。
Each year, around 57% of ETS permits are auctioned, while the rest are given to industries for free to curb their CO2 bills, helping them compete with foreign rivals that do not face similar costs.
一项关键变更涉及工业基准，基准决定钢铁、化工、水泥和化肥等行业获得多少免费配额。文本将把基准建立在代表某行业10%产量的最高效装置之上，取代目前基于最高效10%装置的方法。行业团体辩称，现行方法允少数极其高效的工厂对基准产生不成比例的影响。
A key change concerns industrial benchmarks, which determine how many free permits sectors such as steel, chemicals, cement and fertilisers receive. The text would base benchmarks on the most efficient installations representing 10% of a sector's production volume, replacing the current method based on the 10% most efficient installations. Industry groups have argued the existing method allows a small number of exceptionally efficient plants to disproportionately influence the benchmark.
文本还将通过年度更新逐步实施基准削减，而非每五年一次性削减，从而导致免费配额更渐进地减少。
It would also phase in benchmark cuts through annual updates rather than in one step every five years, resulting in a more gradual reduction in free allowances.
根据妥协方案，小型装置——即在上一个分配周期内获得免费配额少于5000份的装置——将豁免欧盟委员会提出的要求，即提交脱碳投资计划以获得免费配额资格。
Under the compromise, small installations — those that received fewer than 5,000 free permits over the previous allocation period — would be exempt from the Commission's proposed requirement to submit decarbonisation investment plans in order to qualify for free permits.
对于大型装置，企业将能够在符合条件的脱碳项目开工后获取其免费配额的最后20%，而非像委员会提案那样等到项目完工后才能获取。
For larger installations, companies would be able to access the final 20% of their free allocation once construction begins on an eligible decarbonisation project, rather than waiting until the project is completed under the Commission proposal.
文本还拓宽了企业跨工业集群和价值链汇集投资的机会，并明确了某些连接区域供热网络的热泵投资可计入投资要求的合规范围。
The text also broadens opportunities for companies to pool investments across industrial clusters and value chains, and clarifies that certain heat-pump investments connected to district-heating networks can count towards compliance with investment requirements.
“爱尔兰轮值主席国正采取建设性方式，以在12月环境理事会上达成关于ETS1审议的协议，”爱尔兰轮值主席国发言人周日表示。
"The Irish Presidency is taking a constructive approach to deliver agreement on the ETS1 Review at the December Environment Council," a spokesperson for the Irish presidency said on Sunday.
欧盟各国政府和欧洲议会必须各自确立谈判立场，然后才能进入磋商以敲定最终法律。
EU governments and the European Parliament must each agree their negotiating positions before entering talks to agree a final law.