All posts tagged: Emissions Trading System

5 fights to watch out for at summit of EU leaders – POLITICO

5 fights to watch out for at summit of EU leaders – POLITICO

Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Bulgaria, Austria and Croatia are urging the EU executive to reexamine the scheme by the end of May at the latest, arguing it harms their industries and is contributing to rising energy prices.  But not everyone agrees, with two EU officials from ETS-supporting countries saying the cap-and-trade system must remain in place. The first official argued it is not contributing to the energy crisis and is actually helping Europe’s economy, with its revenues needed for the green transition.   On the topic of energy, the Commission’s proposed gas price cap is also likely to be raised, though not all countries are likely to get on board with that either, according to a senior German government official. According to the draft conclusions, EU leaders will instruct the Commission to “present without delay a toolbox of targeted temporary measures” to bring down energy prices.  Competitiveness, anyone? EU vs. itself Despite the crises crowding the agenda, leaders will still try to push forward plans to revive Europe’s economy, building on talks at a February summit at Alden Biesen in Belgium. Most of the proposals fall under the “One Europe, One Market” push to deepen the single market — easing the movement of goods, services, capital and people across the bloc. The draft conclusions …

The power struggle for control of Poland – POLITICO

The power struggle for control of Poland – POLITICO

POLITICO’s Poll of Polls shows Tusk’s Civic Coalition is comfortably ahead with the support of 34 percent of voters, while PiS trails at 26 percent. However, the smaller parties that make up Tusk’s coalition aren’t doing well and he’d be unlikely to form the next government. Just behind PiS are two far-right parties, the libertarian Confederation at 13 percent and the antisemitic Confederation of the Polish Crown with 8 percent. However, those parties are in deep conflict with PiS, and it’s unclear if they’d be able to form a stable coalition. That’s forcing PiS to scramble to appeal to conservative voters, making Nawrocki’s SAFE veto a key political move. A survey out this week by the Ibris organization found that 56.9 percent of those polled were opposed to Nawrocki’s SAFE veto while 33.8 percent supported it. While many voters are leery of the effort to block SAFE, the right-wing Republika television denounced the loan program with comments like: “HERR DONALD FÜR DEUTSCHLAND,” and, “A gang of traitors and Volksdeutsches is trying to saddle Poles with …

Big EU lobby groups exaggerated industry support for attack on carbon price – POLITICO

Big EU lobby groups exaggerated industry support for attack on carbon price – POLITICO

Merz jumped on the demands to suggest he was open to weakening the policy, comments he later rowed back on but not before they crashed the carbon price. Ever since, attacks on the ETS, which obliges factories to pay for their pollution, have escalated, with Italy recently calling for a suspension pending an upcoming reform.  The letterhead on top of the petition, which asked the EU to “bring energy and carbon costs down,” read: “Presented to EU leaders at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp on 11 February 2026 on behalf of the signatories of the Antwerp Declaration.” The 2024 Antwerp Declaration, which called for a European “Industrial Deal” and did not mention carbon costs, was backed by nearly 1,350 signatories, including more than 900 companies ranging from steel giant ArcelorMittal to fertilizer producer Yara.  An emailed press release linking to the petition similarly stated that “the Antwerp Declaration Community — representing more than 1,300 companies, associations and trade unions across Europe — called on EU Heads of State and Government to take urgent and bold …

Spain defends EU’s flagship climate law against attacks from other capitals – POLITICO

Spain defends EU’s flagship climate law against attacks from other capitals – POLITICO

Sánchez sent the paper to European Council President António Costa on Thursday, just as Italy launched a blistering attack on the ETS. Rome called for its suspension until after the reform is completed, claiming that the carbon price is driving up energy costs and acting as a “tax” on manufacturers. The Spanish paper takes the opposite view. “Dismantling the emissions trading system is the wrong answer to high energy prices,” the paper reads. “While some adjustments to the current system to reduce [price] volatility could [be] welcome, a misguided and rushed reform would risk distorting the price signal it has successfully been sending without bringing competitiveness gains.” Madrid joins Sweden in defending the system, which regulates around half of the bloc’s emissions and has successfully slashed pollution in half since 2005. In general, Spain writes, “we must advance and accelerate, not dilute, the green agenda. This is not just a moral imperative, but a lever for sustained, long-term competitiveness … Any slowdown in decarbonisation would play directly into our competitors’ hands.” Madrid also positions itself …

Italy calls for suspension of carbon price in major attack on EU climate policy – POLITICO

Italy calls for suspension of carbon price in major attack on EU climate policy – POLITICO

On top of that, Rome may have overestimated the effect the measure will have on household bills, the former executive said. Renewable energy prices are largely determined outside the market through fixed, bilateral contracts — meaning bills are only marginally exposed to the ETS price. Renewable energy producers, on the other hand, base their long-term investment strategies on those higher, ETS-linked prices, and the new law could derail those plans, while favoring gas, the person added. The CEO of energy company Edison, for example, said last week that the government’s plans could slow down the green transition.  Growing pressure on ETS The European Commission did not respond to requests for comment and has not yet formally reacted to the Italian decree, which is yet to pass into law. But the EU executive is under intensifying pressure to soften the ETS as it prepares its review of the mechanism, due in the third quarter of this year.  Austrian Energy Minister Elizabeth Zehetner told POLITICO last week that gas-fired power plants should be exempt from the ETS, …

After years of resistance, leaders finally say EU should go at different speeds  – POLITICO

After years of resistance, leaders finally say EU should go at different speeds  – POLITICO

With the bloc buffeted by multiple geopolitical crises, it’s starting to realize that it can’t come to grips with them if it only acts when all 27 member countries agree. From defense to energy to investment, the European Commission, which makes the rules, and national governments, which are supposed to implement them, are finding themselves hamstrung. Meanwhile, businesses talk of being strangled by red tape and high energy costs.  Donald Trump’s threats to seize Greenland and his wavering on helping Ukraine fend off Russia, combined with China’s strategy of flooding Europe with artificially cheap goods, have provided an impetus to the EU’s most senior decision-makers to finally get moving. Thursday’s summit of EU leaders — only 15 kilometers from the Dutch city of Maastricht, where one of the most significant treaties underpinning the bloc was signed in 1992 — occasioned some “strategic brainstorming” on how to “promote our prosperity, create high quality jobs and ensure affordability,” European Council President António Costa said. “Today’s discussion brought a new energy and shared sense of urgency around that objective,” he …

Von der Leyen and Merz clash over future of EU’s core climate law  – POLITICO

Von der Leyen and Merz clash over future of EU’s core climate law  – POLITICO

“This system is implemented to reduce CO2 emissions, and at the same time to enable the companies to come to CO2-free production lines. So if this is not achievable, and if this is not the right instrument, we should be very open to revising it, or at least to postpone it,” he said to loud applause from industry representatives. “We should avoid everything that is jeopardizing the competitiveness of our industry. I’m fully in line with all those who are saying we have to do more on climate change,” he added, but if policies come “at the cost of our industries, at the cost of the [jobs] in our industry, this is unacceptable. And that’s the reason why I’m in line with everyone who says if this is not the right instrument, we have to talk about that and we have to change it if it doesn’t work.” And while in a separate session, French President Emmanuel Macron warned against “killing” the ETS, he insisted: “Europe cannot define ambitious climate objectives while allowing its industrial …

Airlines target EU climate rules after carmakers showed the way – POLITICO

Airlines target EU climate rules after carmakers showed the way – POLITICO

“I will make a bet today that what happened to the car regulation will happen to the SAF [Sustainable Aviation Fuels] regulation in Europe,” French energy giant TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné predicted at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this month. Carmakers provide a model on how to get the EU to backtrack. The bloc mandated that no CO2-emitting cars could be sold from 2035, essentially killing the combustion engine and replacing it with batteries (possibly with a minor role for hydrogen). But many carmakers — allied with countries like Germany, Italy and automaking nations in Central Europe — pushed back, arguing that the 2035 mandate would destroy the car sector just as it is battling U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, sluggish demand and a rising threat from Chinese competitors. “I will make a bet today that what happened to the car regulation will happen to the SAF [Sustainable Aviation Fuels] regulation in Europe,” Patrick Pouyanné said. | Ludovic Marin/ AFP via Getty Images In the end, the European Commission gave way and watered …