Climate policy should not be a cash cow for Member States

“We are ready to discuss a real structural reform of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) but object to any artificial intervention in the ETS, as it is a market-based instrument. Any such short-sighted intervention will raise energy prices and ultimately make the consumer foot the bill. A structural reform should include Member States moving on the question of earmarking revenues”, said Richard Seeber MEP, EPP Group Spokesman in the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee of the European Parliament.

“What the carbon market needs is a structural change, not a one-stop rescue mission such as backloading. We call on the European Commission to make a new proposal for a structural reform of the ETS which should not solely focus on increasing carbon prices. This proposal must stick to three principles – be fully market-based, address the system's inability to react to economic up and downturns, and earmark revenues for innovative environmental technologies”, said Pilar del Castillo MEP, EPP Group Spokeswoman in the Industry, Research and Energy Committee of the European Parliament.

“The ETS should not simply be a ‘cash cow’ for Member States. Climate policy should be an instrument to address the climate problem by cost-effectively reducing carbon emissions, not a trick to fill empty national moneybags”, Seeber added.

Last week in plenary (21 April 2013), the EP rejected the European Commission's proposal to withdraw 900 million carbon emission allowances from the market, so-called backloading. It has been referred back to the Environment Committee for further negotiations.