Handel med utsläppsrätter. Ett effektivt styrmedel på den svenska fjärrvärmemarknaden?
In January 2005 the emission allowance system was introduced within the European Union and the first period ends at the end of 2007. The system was introduced in order to decrease the wastes of carbon dioxide and the system is a part of ratifying the Kyoto ?protocol which first period runs between 2008-2012.The idea of the system is to reduce the wastes of carbon dioxide where it costs less to do so and the expenses for the society therefore are as diminutive as possible. Different theories explain that companies can benefit from environment legislation and can depending on the company?s attitude gain competitive advantages improve its productivity and thereby increase its profitability.With this in mind, the study aims at examining how the introduction of the emission trade system has influenced Swedish smaller companies in the distant heating industry, with focus on the factors attitude, innovation, competition and profitability. The study was implemented through interviews with five smaller distant heating companies.The study shows that the companies mainly have a positive attitude towards the emission trading system but the general conclusion is that the system only influenced the companies marginally. Many companies have been assigned too many emission allowances which suppressed the incentive to trade allowances. We found that the investments that have been made in the last years can be connected to other factors than the introduction of the emission trading system.