EU braces for ETS reform
EU policymakers are resisting a sweeping overhaul of carbon pricing and instead pushing targeted energy tax cuts to shield consumers — but they still expect reforms to the emissions trading scheme between Q2 and Q3 of 2026, setting up a tense implementation fight after COP30. (euronews.com) (eunews.it).
European Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra told officials the ETS review will be carried out “between the end of the second quarter and the start of the third quarter” of 2026, putting concrete deadline pressure on Brussels. (eunews.it) President Ursula von der Leyen signalled short-term fixes in a March letter to EU leaders that flagged carbon costs among the components the Commission wants to address while urging targeted energy tax cuts rather than a full market overhaul. (bloomberg.com) Draft conclusions for the March 19 European Council summit instructed the Commission to present a review of the ETS “at the latest by July 2026” to reduce price volatility and shield electricity consumers, formalising a member-state timetable. (marketscreener.com) Italy’s environment minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin and a group of Eastern European governments have pushed for temporary suspensions or sectoral carve-outs for thermal power, including an Italian non-paper urging measures for the power sector. (eunews.it) BusinessEurope published a position paper on Feb. 24 calling for flexibilities in the ETS review, including reconsidering the phase-out of free allowances and widening protections for sectors at risk of carbon leakage. (businesseurope.eu) Markets reacted: benchmark EU carbon permits plunged as much as 8% on Feb. 12 to about €72.18 after public calls to revise the ETS, and prices slid again around March 17 after comments about making extra permits available, with intraday falls of roughly 5%. (bloomberg.com) COP30 in Belém, Brazil ran 10–21 November 2025, meaning the Commission’s planned Q3 2026 ETS proposals would fall squarely in the post‑COP political calendar and set up the implementation clash leaders warned could follow after the summit. (unfccc.int)
