Latvia to take EU to court over CO2 allowance cut

RIGA, July 31 (Reuters) Latvia is to take the European Commission to court after the European Union executive decided to slash its planned carbon dioxide emission allowance for 2008 to 2012, Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis said today.

Latvia has asked for a CO2 allowance of 6.25 million tonnes a year for the period 2008-2012, but the European Commission has allocated it 3.43 million tonnes.

''The government decided today to go to the European Union court,'' Kalvitis told Reuters after a cabinet meeting where the government had been due to decide whether to take legal action.

''We need extra capacity, we have various energy projects coming up and the extra capacity is needed because of the planned closing of Ignalina,'' he said, referring to the nuclear power plant in Lithuania, which supplies some of Latvia's electricity.

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