Emissions trading scheme Archives

On Wednesday (14 July), the European Commission is due to table a package of energy and climate laws aimed at reaching the EU's new, more ambitious climate goals. EURACTIV gives you the lowdown on the plan.

The EU has clearly fallen short in communicating its upcoming carbon border levy abroad, including on how it intends to use the revenues raised by it. Fortunately, it still has time to fix these shortcomings, write Anne Gläser and Oldag Caspar.

Geeky, technical work on how to create a carbon price for buildings and road transport that incentivises change without being too high is key to the extension of the emissions trading scheme, writes Brook Riley.

A draft of the EU’s revised Emissions Trading Scheme confirms the European Commission’s intention to tighten the cap placed on CO2 emissions from industry and extend carbon trading to cover shipping emissions as well as road transport and heating fuels.

The European Union is planning to toughen its carbon market to cut emissions faster and put a price on pollution in new sectors, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday (27 June).

A carbon tax on the fuel used to heat Europe's buildings is the most effective price signal to decarbonise Europe's building stock, which is in desperate need of renovation to meet the EU's climate ambition, writes Oliver Rapf.

An EU-wide emissions trading system for the transport and building sectors would secure the financing of low carbon solutions and support lower-income households and member states through the redistribution of carbon pricing revenues, argue Matthias Buck and Andreas Graf.

The European Commission's commitment to create a "climate social fund" is very welcome but its design will be crucial if it is going to have an impact on building renovation, write Louise Sunderland and Samuel Thomas.

The European Commission will set up a fund to support vulnerable households if their fuel bills increase as a result of its plan to expand carbon pricing to transport and buildings' heating systems, the EU's climate chief said on Wednesday (9 June).

The German government is backing an extension of European Union carbon pricing and an end to free carbon permits for airlines as the bloc prepares new measures to help meet climate change targets, according to a document obtained by EURACTIV.

Carbon prices on the EU emissions trading scheme are currently rising too fast, making the market extremely volatile, but it seems the European Commission has no effective stabilising tool to tackle this, writes Robert Jeszke and Sebastian Lizak.

The European Union plans to impose carbon emission costs on imports of goods, including steel, cement and electricity, according to leaked documents obtained by EURACTIV.

As European leaders meet today to discuss the share of emissions reductions across Europe, they must focus on how to do this effectively and avoid the possible repercussions of expanding the emissions trading scheme, writes Marcin Korolec.

EU countries are likely to reaffirm national emissions goals for sectors like buildings, transport, and agriculture, when EU leaders meet for a summit scheduled on 24-25 May.

European industry is becoming increasingly vocal regarding the challenges it faces in decarbonising production while remaining competitive, a view supported by a recent think-tank report.

Britain will start its own market for trading fossil fuel emission permits this week, but with no sign of a link to the European Union's market, prices could end up being more volatile than the EU's.

The amount of permits in circulation in Europe's carbon market increased last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused emissions covered by the scheme to drop, the European Commission said on Wednesday (12 May).

A senior EU official on Tuesday (11 May) defended European Commission plans to extend the bloc's carbon market to road transport, arguing that revenues generated could be used to offset the effects of higher fuel prices on the poorest in society.

The European Union’s head of climate change policy warned against policymakers intervening in the carbon market on Friday (7 May), after the price of EU carbon permits soared this week to record highs.

The European Union carbon price hit a record high of above €50 per tonne on Tuesday (4 May), a key milestone in what analysts say is likely a long-term climb towards the price levels needed to trigger investments in innovative clean technologies.

Steel, cement and fertilisers should be among the first sectors protected by the upcoming carbon levy to safeguard European business from cheaper, CO2 intensive imports, according to Poland.

How can we expect people to invest in heat pumps if we deliberately make electricity more expensive than fossil gas, oil and coal? That’s like taxing water and subsidising sugary drinks, argues Samuel Thomas.

Europe will apply its emissions trading scheme to buildings and transport, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a summit of world leaders on Thursday (22 April), setting the stage for the EU’s planned overhaul of its carbon market.

Rapid emission cuts need one carbon price for all sectors, including transport and buildings. But to move quickly enough, we should allow some differentiation for a limited time, writes Georg Zachmann.