“Left out in the cold”

The German government does not yet have a unified position on the reform of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) planned for next year, write Till Hoppe and Klaus Stratmann for Handelsblatt. “We must not further embarrass ourselves as the only large member state without a coordinated position,” government sources told Handelsblatt. Points of contention include the number of free CO₂ certificates allocated to companies that compete internationally, and which companies should receive them. In July 2015, the EU Commission proposed legislation to revise the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) for the period after 2020, which is now being discussed in Brussels.

For background information read the CLEW article German steelworkers fight EU plans for emissions trading and the CLEW factsheet Understanding the European Union’s Emissions Trading System.