MEPs adopted plans to reform the EU's emissions trading system on 6 February 2018. Read on to find out what it is all about.

What is the EU's emissions trading system all about?

Although the EU is the world's third largest CO2 emitter, it also pursues the most ambitious climate target: to cut emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

Launched in 2005, the emissions trading system (ETS) is one of the tools set by the European Union to reach this goal. It specifically targets the industry.

How does it work?

The emissions trading scheme obliges more than 11,000 power plants and factories to hold a permit for each tonne of CO2 they emit. This should provide a financial incentive to pollute less: the less you pollute, the less you pay. Companies have to buy them through auctions and the price is affected by demand and supply.



However, some of the permits are allocated for free, particularly in sectors at risk of having companies move production to other parts of the world with laxer emission constraints.

Why is a reform needed?

At the moment these permits are very cheap, because demand for them dropped due to the economic crisis, while the supply has remained constant.



The emissions trading system has been characterised by a large imbalance between the supply and demand of allowances, resulting in a surplus of about 2.1 billion in 2013. The surplus was reduced slightly in 2014 and then fell significantly to 1.78 billion allowances in 2015 and to 1.69 billion allowances in 2016.

Having a large surplus and low prices discourages companies from investing in green technology, thereby hampering the scheme's efficiency in combatting climate change.