Following the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) Directive in April 2023, the European Commission was mandated to review the Free Allocation Regulation, which establishes the methodology that calculates the number of free emission allowances for sectors...
Category: Industry
The European Hydrogen Bank Confirms a Blind Support Approach
The Commission has recently published the Terms & Conditions (T&C) for the pilot auction of the European Hydrogen Bank (EHB) taking place on the 23rd of November 2023, in an attempt to meet the ambitious target set in the REPowerEU plan of 10Mt domestically...
Fixing the Innovation Fixation
Joint blog with Carbon Market Watch25 May 2023 Sandbag's feedback to the EC25 May 2023 The EU’s Innovation Fund, launched in 2018, is the EU’s programme for funding cutting-edge low-carbon technologies. To be eligible, projects must be, according to the European...
Free Allocation Needs to Incentivise Circularity for the EU to Reach Net Zero
Open letter: Free allocation needs to incentivise circularity for the EU to reach net zero To: DG CLIMA - Mr Heiko Kunst Chair of the Expert Group on Climate Change Policy Dear Mr Kunst, We are writing to you on behalf of the European steel scrap recycling...
From Process to Product: A Fix to the Allocation of Free Emission Permits to Industry
On 18 April 2023, Sandbag presented to the European Commission’s Expert Group on Climate Change Policy a proposal for reforming the granting of free emission permits to industry under the bloc’s carbon market. Our proposal aims to incentivise the switch to lower...
The Net Zero Industry Act: all industry, no net zero
The European Commission’s proposal for a Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) as part of the Green Deal Industrial Plan purports to boost the European green transition whilst decreasing dependence on third countries. But does what sounds like a win-win for industry and the...
The European Hydrogen Bank: a recipe for competitive distortion
Last Thursday, the European Commission published its Communication on the European Hydrogen Bank set to accompany the Net-Zero Industry Act, the legislative proposal for which was published on the same day. The Bank will be an instrument aimed to domestically produce...
EU Criteria for Green Hydrogen: How They Could Increase Relience on Thermal Power and Hijack the Energy Transition
On February 13th, the European Commission released two pieces of legislation to provide criteria defining renewable hydrogen products. The so-called Delegated Acts matter because they set out how to comply with other regulations under review which will force ships,...
Mind the Scrap: Ignoring Embedded Emissions Puts the CBAM at Risk
Sandbag’s submission to DG TAXUD’s Informal Expert Group on the Analytical Methods for the Monitoring, Reporting, Quantification and Verification of Embedded Emissions in Goods under the Scrope of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). According to notes...
Lost opportunity of carbon market reform leaves a lot to fix in ancillary laws
On 13 December 2022, the European Commission, Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism that will partly replace the free allocation of emissions permits to polluters covered by its carbon market. This marks the...