The Government raises aid to offset the costs of CO ₂ emissions

The Council of Ministers has raised to 172.23 million euros the subsidies to compensate for the costs derived from indirect emissions of greenhouse gases that industrial companies have incurred during the year 2018, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism reported today.

This sum almost doubles the 91 million euros that had initially been allocated to the 2019 call for grants, which will allow to meet the 192 applications received and execute one hundred percent of the authorized budget.

According to Industry, this is the largest annual amount granted so far to the electro-intensive industry in this type of aid.

For example, the amount granted in 2017 was €83.8 million.

The acting Minister of Industry, Reyes Maroto, stressed that, with this expansion of subsidies, the Government “fulfills its commitment to support industrial sectors,” according to the ministry’s statement.

In his opinion, this decision “reinforces the competitiveness of companies that are more intensive in electricity consumption and, therefore, more sensitive to electricity costs”.

Maroto stressed that these aids are “especially important in the current context”, as it has not been possible to approve the Statute of the Electrointensive Consumer because the Government is in office.

The aid granted by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism to offset indirect emission costs since June 2018 amounts to 256 million.

Source: The Vanguard