Poland has lost a case against the European Commission at the EU General Court in Luxembourg. The Polish government had appealed over the EC's decision to set carbon-efficiency benchmarks in 2011. The EU decided to increase the number of carbon allowances sold to emitting companies, while a large number of them had been granted free of charge earlier.

Poland saw the regulation as too restrictive for its coal-based energy sector and stressed that it would affect energy-consuming industries, such as chemical production, paper production or metallurgy.

The regulation contested by Poland doesn’t infringe the country’s rights to decide about its energy mix, the EU General Court in Luxembourg ruled today. The Polish government now has two months to appeal against the decision to the European Court of Justice.

Poland A.M.