Summary
The Emissions Trading System is a cornerstone of EU climate change policy, and the key tool for reducing industrial carbon emissions. A robust ETS reform is vital to improve the investment conditions for Europe’s most efficient companies, and to deliver on COP-21 international climate targets.
Why it’s important
Metals are energy-intensive to produce, along with other key EU sectors including steel, chemicals, paper and cement. That means we face high carbon costs from the Emissions Trading System, which we cannot pass through to our customers.
The ETS should fully compensate those companies whom have invested in becoming more efficient, to stimulate further innovations and keep them competitive internationally.
€14.4bn
net indirect CO2 costs faced, 2013-2020
What we are seeking
We’re asking EU policy makers to protect the competiveness of best performers within energy-intensive industries, rewarding their investment and innovation:
- Fully compensate for direct and indirect costs incurred, at the level of best performers and in a predictable manner
- When defining carbon leakage protection, consider each sectors’ ability to pass-on costs into product prices
- Revise benchmarks periodically, based on actual production data
- Keep process benchmarks allocation at 97%, without distortions