Publications
EU ETS Reform – Policy Suggestions for the European Parliament
Achieving the increased EU climate targets and the goals of the Paris Agreement requires strong incentives to be set for the economy to decarbonise. A significant part of the EU’s carbon emissions is found in the industrial sectors. Consequently, a more robust...
EU ETS Revenues: Who Receives What? The Trillion Euro Question
This brief gives an analysis of the EU ETS Revenues, and aims to highlight, under various scenarios, how much is allocated to industry, Member States, and the Union’s budget respectively. The European carbon market, currently under review, will likely generate...
Why Free Allocation in the EU ETS Must Stop Urgently
Free allocation (FA) under the EU ETS has been criticised for directing large amounts of taxpayers’ money towards incumbent polluting plants, turning the polluter-pays principle on its head and not being sustainable in the long run. It also creates competitive...
Urgent: CBAM needed to abolish free allocation under the EU ETS
Why was the CBAM proposed in the first place? In July 2021, the EU announced its Fit for 55 package - a sweeping set of climate and energy policy proposals which forms the EU’s approach to combat the effects of climate change. This package is the EU’s toolkit for...
Feedback on the EU ETS reform
Sandbag welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the update of the EU ETS under the FF55 package. Our analyses [1] show that the proposed changes are not enough to guarantee that emissions will stay below the cap and that they could exceed it by 45% in 2030....
Supply-demand analysis of EU ETS reform: Letting Industry Loose
This note aims to put numbers on the amendment proposed by the European Commission to the Directive ruling the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) as part of its Fit-for-55 package, and its impact on the supply and demand balance of emission allowances (EUA). In...
A storm in a teacup: impacts and geopolitical risks of the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
Report | A storm in a teacup Impacts and geopolitical risks of the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. Sandbag and E3G were commissioned by Energy Foundation China to analyse the impact of the CBAM proposed by the European Commission in its Fit For 55...
New study shows limited trade impacts of European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
The impact of the likely Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on European importers will be minor, according to a new report by Sandbag and E3G. The CBAM only covers 3.2 percent of goods imported into Europe, but 47 percent of the free emission allowances...
ETS reform: under the hype, a sense of déjà-vu
On 14 July a long-expected reform proposal of Europe’s carbon market was published by the European Commission. Far from addressing the market’s main issues, it barely adds a few patches and increases the risk of exceeding the cap. Cap: LRF, rebasing, maritime...
A Storm in a Teacup: preliminary findings on the CBAM proposal
Sandbag’s analysis of the European Commission’s leaked proposal for a CBAM highlights its limited trade scope but significant climate policy implications. Although the covered goods represent a small fraction of EU imports (just 0.8% from China) the sectors involved receive nearly half of all free EU ETS allowances. The CBAM aims to replace these with a carbon pricing mechanism on imports, particularly affecting steel and aluminium. While importers may face increased costs, much of this is expected to be offset through higher consumer prices.
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