The Polish Cement Association has sent a letter to Poland’s prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, asking the latter to intervene in the allocation of CO2 emission licences.

Branch representatives reckon that the proposals of the National Administration of the Emissions Trading Scheme (KASHUE), aimed at cutting back on the number of licences allocated on a proportional basis to all sectors, are unfair and will result in cement plants turning out less cement than is necessary.

KASHUE has suggested a CO2 cap of approx. 8.5 million tonnes annually for the cement industry in 2008-2012, which would translate into 12.9 million tonnes of cement a year. This would be more than 30% below the construction branch’s estimated needs for 2008.