ETS to remain heart of EU climate policy

Carbon border adjustments could encourage scheme’s influence in other regions, according to panel

The EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) will remain at the core of the bloc’s climate policy despite concerns about rising power prices, according to a panel at the FT Commodities Global Summit this week. The scheme has come under fire for adding to power prices at a time when household bills are unprecedentedly high. Poland—a longtime ETS critic—has warned it might withdraw from the scheme unless the EU makes changes to it. And the crisis in Ukraine will only add to pressure on household energy bills. But there is another, more important factor at play, according to Hannah Hauman, head of carbon trading at trading house Trafigura. “We see the recent crisis as just doubling down on the energ