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European Commission estimates that the energy intensive sector has accumulated subsidies worth ? 12 billion at end 2012 7

Some of the largest industrial companies in Europe has acquired billions of euros of emission standards for carbon supports strongly against the recent analysis shows that today.

Ten companies of steel and cement have accumulated 240 million carbon pollution permits generous benefits, which is the report of the study center carbon trading sandbags, seen by The Guardian. The free allowances, granted to companies with a market value of ? 4 billion (£ 3.5 billion) may be sold or kept for future use. The European Commission estimates that the entire energy sector has accumulated subsidies worth ? 12 billion at end July 2012.

"More and more see the future of Europe is based on an economy of high efficiency with low pollution," said the Baroness Worthington, founding director of sandbags. "But a small group of corporate fat cat carbon try to stop it, despite a windfall of billions of pollution permits for free."

ArcelorMittal steel company

top of the list in the report, with a current account surplus amounted to ? 1.7 billion, followed by Giant Cement Lafarge.

Tata Steel, the third with a surplus amounting to ? 393m, announced last month 1,500 jobs in its factories in Lincolnshire and Teesside, blaming emissions regulations and the economic downturn. Karl-Ulrich Köhler, Managing Director of Tata Steel Europe, said at the time: "The EU legislation threatens to impose huge additional costs of carbon to the steel industry." Tata Steel declined to comment.

The regime of the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) puts a cap on carbon pollution emitted by industrial and energy companies. Those who reduce their emissions can sell their spare permits which are not. But a combination of initial over-allocation of national governments and the economic crisis has left the steel, cement, chemicals, ceramics and paper industries with permits much more than necessary. Industries have lobbied hard against the calls of governments and the United Kingdom by the hardening of the ETS and emissions targets.

Eurofer, the lobby group representing the European steel makers, said last month: "To remain competitive on the open market, the world's steel, European needs .. . the law does not affect their competitiveness, but we are. very concerned that the climate change policy of the EU will do just that. "

"Buying carbon offsets foreign competitors do not seem to be the actions of companies genuinely concerned that the ETS will drive business overseas," said Worthington.

Not all companies are reluctant to hardening of the EU ETS. Five major energy companies, including Scottish Power in the UK and South last week to replace the permits to be removed from the ETS, a proposal supported by sandbags. "Otherwise, it could seriously hinder the commercial incentives to invest in low carbon technologies, such as price signals are biased in favor of solutions based on fossil fuels," the statement said.

The Guardian contacted all the companies cited by the sandbag. Those who responded argued that the surplus of production quotas born has decreased and may be necessary when the economy recovers. They argued that without protection, steel and cement would be deported to countries with good manufacturing CO2 and less effective. Many have called for global regulation of emissions.

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