Four months after an EC deadline for submitting a new six-year plan for carbon dioxide emissions, Industry and Trade Minister Martin Říman said Oct. 22 that the government will attempt to secure vouchers for 104 million metric tons (114.4 million short tons) of emissions per year through 2012 — 26 percent more than the country emitted last year.

"The final amount that we'll be asking for in Brussels will be finalized in an open debate in which ministries, industrial companies and also some environmental organizations will take part," Říman said.

The EC allocated 97.6 million metric tons' worth of emissions vouchers — which limit how much carbon dioxide EU countries can emit — to Czech companies annually from 2005–07.

Czech companies produced some 15.2 millions metric tons less than they were allowed last year. As a result, several had extra emissions vouchers they then sold for a profit.

Power giant ČEZ, for example, earned an extra 1.1 billion Kč ($48.7 million) from the sale of extra vouchers in 2005.

The increased demand for the vouchers relies on the projected 6 percent growth of the Czech economy, which would increase energy consumption and emissions, Říman said.

The Confederation of Industry welcomes Říman's proposal and says that it would further boost Czech companies' competitiveness abroad, but environmentalists say that the increase in the amount of vouchers will not force local companies to reduce emissions.

Greenpeace called for reducing the amount of emission vouchers for the Czech Republic from 97.6 million tons in 2005–07 to 78 million tons in 2008–12.

Meanwhile, the EC will begin sanction proceedings against the Czech Republic and eight other EU member states that failed to submit their emissions voucher plans by the June 30 deadline. The Czech Republic, Denmark and Hungary have not even submitted preliminary allocation schemes.

The political stalemate after the general elections in June was directly responsible for delaying the allocation plan, said Environmental Ministry Spokeswoman Karolína Šůlová.