Brussels, 15 December 2016 – A vote today by the European Parliament environment committee on the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) has been welcomed by Cefic, the EU chemical industry council, after policymakers endorsed reasonable levels of free allocation for industry and importantly – excluded a proposed complex and unnecessary tiering system.

The EU ETS is the single most important industrial policy file of this legislature. With 1,300 chemical plants covered by the ETS, Europe’s chemical industry is one of the most affected sectors.

Today’s vote displays a pragmatic approach by the Parliament, balancing the need to strengthen the carbon market, while also ensuring Europe remains attractive for chemical companies to keep investing in the EU. The volume proposed for industry allocation comes close to the promise of the EU Council that the best performing installations in all sectors receive sufficient free allocation.

Said Cefic Director General Marco Mensink, “This is crucial as we face rapidly rising competition from chemical production in Asia and the US. Most importantly the Committee decided to move away from the tiered approach, which arbitrarily discriminates between the different manufacturing sectors.”

He also added, “As we move to a more stringent cap, we expect the Council will move even further away from a tiered approach: all sectors have to carry their weight, especially when they’re such a large part of industry emissions".

Cefic takes note of an EU fund for indirect compensation which will provide a uniform approach for electricity intensive sectors like chlorine production. The references made in the innovation fund to Carbon Capture and Use (CCU) which is quickly becoming a useful feedstock for the EU chemical industry, is a positive development.

Ultimately, all the funds coming from the ETS need to be used to decarbonise industry and develop breakthrough technologies such as CCU. A massive innovation drive is critical if we’re to achieve the even tougher carbon cap set for 2030.

Cefic calls for further analysis on the long term impact. Said Mr. Mensink, "The impact of today’s vote on the overall carbon price is as yet unclear and needs to be analysed before final decisions are taken."

For further information contact:

Dervla Gleeson
Cefic Media Relations Manager
dgl@cefic.be
+32 (0)492 461 558