European Union states further undermined the bloc's key climate change strategy today as nearly all missed a deadline to set caps on industry pollution for 2008-2012.
Estonia, which accounts for just 0.9 percent of the scheme, was the only country to submit its plan allocating permits to high-polluting industry under an agreement to trade carbon emission certificates.
The scheme is meant to drive the EU towards achieving targets set by the Kyoto Protocol.
A spokeswoman for the European Commission said Germany's plan was imminent but Estonia was the only official notification tabled so far. The deadline expires at midnight Brussels time.
"The fact that the member states missed the deadline to hand in the new allocation plans ... is of course another blow to the credibility of the entire system," said Jan Kowalzig, climate campaigner at environmental group Friends of the Earth.
"The market will not take this very seriously if the administrative side is not working properly.
Under the system, EU countries set limits on how much carbon dioxide (CO2) companies in sectors like power and steel can emit. Those that overshoot their targets can sell extra permits, while those that pollute above their limit must buy allowances on the market or face a fine.