BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will publish in November its EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) market review, as part of plans to tackle a huge surplus of carbon permits that has depressed the market, an EU source said on Tuesday.
The Commission has already announced proposals to withhold temporarily some of the surplus permits, but member states have yet to agree to the plan.
In addition, the EU executive has said it will lay out options for wider, longer term reform and these will be presented at the same time as a carbon market review.
EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard announced in April the review was being brought forward from next year, but did not specify exactly when it would be published.
"It will be in November," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "December would be too late."
The source did not give a precise date.
Advocates of action to support the carbon market say there is no time to lose. They argue more detail on the Commission's vision for longer term fixes will help achieve consensus on the short term plans to temporarily withhold allowances, referred to as backloading.
The backloading plans were debated by a technical committee early this month, but the meeting was inconclusive.
The committee meets again on October 17, with officials hoping to have consensus on action ahead of the next phase of the ETS, which begins in 2013.
(Reporting by Barbara Lewis; editing by Rex Merrifield)
