-- The European Commission is considering increasing the number of free carbon permits available to polluting companies by adjusting the benchmarks used to calculate the size of such allocations.
Under the proposal, the benchmarks will now also take into account indirect emissions instead of just direct emissions, Bloomberg News reported Monday, citing a document shared with EU member states on April 30.
The updated benchmarks are planned to undergo public consultation from early May until the start of June before being up for approval by the EU's Climate Change Committee. The free carbon permits will then be allocated for the 2016 to 2030 period.
The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment from.
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