Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Australia reduced its estimate of assigned emission credits under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol by 1.1 percent after a review by a team of United Nations experts, giving the nation the sixth most generous allocation.

The nation’s so-called assigned amount was cut to 2.958 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent through 2012 from 2.99 billion tons, according to a document on the Web site of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The difference, about 32.8 million tons, would be worth 317 million euros ($409 million) at benchmark prices today for certified emission reduction credits, which are similar to assigned amount units. Today’s December CER price was 9.65 euros a ton on the European Climate Exchange in London at 2:30 p.m.

Countries can use either so-called AAUs or CERs for compliance with developed-nation greenhouse-gas targets in Kyoto, a global climate-protection pact. Under that protocol, Australia must keep greenhouse gas output to 108 percent of 1990 levels on average in the five years through 2012.

Australia had overestimated emissions in 1990 in industries including aluminium, manufacturing and construction, the document said. Leaders of the expert team were Anke Herold from the European Union and Sabin Guendehou from Benin in Africa.

Australia will need to buy extra credits should its emissions exceed the assigned amount, under rules of the protocol. It can sell spare credits if its emissions rise less than 8 percent from 1990 levels.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mathew Carr in London at m.carr@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 20, 2009 12:01 EST