A bumpy ride lies ahead for eu emissions trading as only Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Ireland have managed to meet the March 31 deadline for submitting the industry's national allocation plans (naps) to the European Commission. Countries such as France, Italy, Spain and Belgium have not initiated the process so far. The uk, the Netherlands and Portugal have only drawn up drafts.

"Everybody was waiting to see the other's hands because nobody wanted to come out with the toughest emissions targets,' said Benedikt von Butler of Evolution Markets, a greenhouse gas brokerage. Germany's plan is seen as being tilted towards the industry. But the commission has made it clear that it will reject lenient naps. The emissions trading scheme allocates quotas to industrial units to emit greenhouse gases. Any company exceeding its quota would have to buy reduction credits on the global market.

Earlier, German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had cautioned Europe against rushing into implementing emission cuts if Russia does not ratify the Kyoto Protocol.