Brussels, 15 February 2017: Glass for Europe welcomes today’s vote by the European Parliament gathered in plenary in Strasbourg on the reform of the EU ETS. This vote paves the way for a reformed EU ETS which would reconcile cost-effective CO2 emission reductions with industrial realities and competitiveness.

The structural problems of the EU ETS system have been known for some time now, in particular the lack of adequate protection against the risk of carbon leakage induced by mechanisms such as the CSCF, but also, the excess in allowances resulting from the combination of an overly rigid allocation system with the industrial downturn of the last years, and the historically low price of EUAs.

Bertrand Cazes, Secretary General of Glass for Europe, comments: ‘All the well-known deficiencies of the EU ETS are addressed with the Commission proposal as amended today by the European Parliament. The European Parliament must be praised for its major contribution to equipping the European Union with a robust ETS tool to deliver industrial GHG emissions reduction, in line with the COP21 Paris agreement’.

Industries and investors need regulatory predictability to plan the low-carbon transition and citizens expect robust actions to fight climate change. With today’s mandate given to the EP rapporteur Ian Duncan to start negotiations with other institutions, it is high time for the Council of the European Union to define a general approach.

Glass for Europe hopes that the main acquis of the European Parliament report will be safeguarded during the negotiation process. ‘Far-reaching compromises found in the European Parliament need to be preserved, in particular those which secure a fair assessment of sectors at risks of carbon leakage, reduce the risks of a CSCF and of over- or under-allocation. These features are essential for Europe’s flat glass industry to remain competitive and leader in low-carbon glass manufacturing’ concludes Bertrand Cazes.

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About Glass for Europe

Glass for Europe is the trade association for Europe’s flat glass sector. Flat glass is the material that goes into a variety of end products, primarily in windows and facades for buildings, windscreens and windows for automotive and transport as well as solar energy equipment, furniture and appliances. Glass for Europe brings together multinational firms and thousands of SMEs across Europe, to represent the whole building glass value-chain. It is composed of flat glass manufacturers, AGC Glass Europe, Guardian, NSG-Group, Saint-Gobain Glass and Sisecam-Trakya Cam, and works in association with national partners gathering thousands of building glass processors and transformers all over Europe.