Romania to resume trading carbon emission rights

Romania has won the right to resume trading its surplus carbon emission rights, almost a year being suspended from doing so under the Kyoto Protocol, Romanian Environment Minister Rovana Plumb has said. "Right now, Romania has undertaken all the necessary measures to resume trading... immediately," she told reporters late Friday. Bucharest would continue its efforts to ensure that its system for estimating CO2 emissions met the criteria set down in the protocol given that the "next progress report would be requested in 2013", a ministry statement added. The landmark Kyoto Protocol was the first global accord to feature legally-binding curbs on greenhouse-gas emissions. Under the protocol, countries are set a target for reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases -- usually carbon dioxide, CO2 -- and are penalised if they breach this ceiling. Those within their target can sell so-called "carbon credits" to countries or companies above their target. Romania was suspended from trading in August 2011 by the Kyoto Protocol Committee that monitors compliance due to irregularities in the assessment of its greenhouse gas emissions.