The European Parliament has voted to reject a commission proposal designed to fix Europe's struggling carbon markets.
An analysis of the voting records shows that 20 out of 24 Conservative MEP's went against the UK government's position and voted to block the reforms - effectively swinging the vote.
See also
Four reasons why the vote really matters
The move will make it cheaper to burn coal for power in Europe instead of gas or zero carbon forms of energy, the price of carbon credits in Europe immediately halved.
That means the vote will almost certainly significantly increase the EU's emissions unless and until new measures are introduced.
Responding to the vote the UK's department of Energy and Climate change said it was 'dissapointed by the parliament's vote but respects their view'.
“In parallel, the UK Government feels that we should now focus on the real issue – the urgent need for structural reform," the statement added.
Accountants PWC described the news "another body blow for carbon markets".
The proposal, known as backloading, would have delayed the release of carbon credits into the market pushing up the price.
Under market rules big polluters, including coal burners, must buy credits for each tonne of carbon dioxide emitted.
The UK has recently adopted a floor price on carbon dioxide which means the vote won't affect the price for UK pollutors.
However it is likely to create a gulf between the cost of emitting greenhouse gasses in the UK and the rest of Europe, putting pressure on politicians to scrap or abolish the floor.
Many large emitters - excluding power stations - are already exempted from the new scheme.
