The EU Emissions Trading System after 2020
The recent report of the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) on the revised EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) for the post-2020 period differs considerably from the European Commission’s proposal of summer 2015. Part of this difference may be explained by changes in the global climate policy landscape, most notably […]
Composition and drivers of energy prices and costs
Researchers at CEPS, in cooperation with researchers at Ecofys and Economisti Associati, have carried out a comprehensive examination of energy prices in selected EU industries, commissioned by DG Grow of the European Commission. The 309-page study concentrates on three sectors and two sub-sectors of the ceramics industry: Steel Aluminium (primary & downstream) […]
Supporting study for the Fitness Check on the construction sector
This study is intended to support the REFIT Sectoral Fitness Check of the Construction Sector, undertaken by the European Commission and expected to be published in the spring of 2017. The Sectoral Fitness Check aims at examining how various EU legal acts impact on the construction sector, and at identifying possible areas of improvement, including […]
Towards an Effective EU Framework for Road Transport and GHG Emissions
Authors: C. Egenhofer, A. Marcu, V. Rizos, A. Behrens, J. Núñez-Ferrer, A. Hassel & M. Elkerbout CEPS Special Report No. of pages: 31 The adoption of the Paris Agreement at the end of 2015 and the EU’s intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) have confirmed the EU’s commitment to achieve decarbonisation by 2050. Transport accounts for […]
The EU ETS: Caught between an ideal and reality
Author: Andrei Marcu Series: CEPS Commentary The EU ETS (emissions trading system) has passed its first decade of operation and has proven to be an inspiration for those who promote carbon pricing through carbon markets as a means to tackle climate change. During this period, Europe has learned important lessons from operating its own ETS […]
Time to connect the dots
Author: Arno Behrens Series: CEPS Policy Brief No. 337 In December 2015, the European Commission published the new Circular Economy Package, containing a host of initiatives to reduce waste and to increase the longevity of products and materials, but it failed to set a headline target for reducing the EU’s use of resources. Such a […]
Scanning the Options for a Structural Reform of the EU Emissions Trading System
This paper provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of different options to reform the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The options discussed include changes to address the rigidity of supply on the auctioning side, as well as reforms to add flexibility to free allocation. Additionally, other options that may enhance the functionality of the EU […]
European Stakeholders’ Perspectives on the EU ETS
The EU has set the overall greenhouse gas emissions target for 2030 and the associated targets for the various sectors covered by the EU emissions trading system (ETS). To meet these challenges and to improve its performance, the EU is currently reviewing some design features of the system. Based on a stakeholder consultation process, this […]
How do stakeholders view the EU ETS?
The EU emissions trading system (ETS) is expected to make a major contribution towards achieving the EU’s target to reduce greenhouse emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels. Moreover, there is a strong need to address an accumulated over-supply of emissions allowances and to improve the performance of the ETS without […]
Climate Change: Balancing economic and environmental concerns
In surveying the portfolio for climate change assigned to Commissioner-designate Arias Cañete, Andrei Marcu finds in this CEPS Commentary that the approach proposed in the European Commission’s January 2014 package offers a sound basis on which to proceed overall, but he specifies that it needs to be put in a context where the causes and […]
The Market Stability Reserve in Perspective
This Special Report aims to contribute to the debate on the Market Stability Reserve (MSR), which was introduced by the European Commission in a legislative proposal of January 2014. The MSR would introduce a degree of supply management into the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). This report is the result of various meetings with ETS-stakeholders […]
The Composition and Drivers of Energy Prices and Costs in Energy-Intensive Industries
In May 2013, the European Commission received a mandate from the European Council to “to present an analysis of the composition and drivers of energy prices and costs in Member States, with a particular focus on the impact on households, SMEs and energy intensive industries, and looking more widely at the EU’s competitiveness vis-à-vis its […]