Emissions
29 July 2026
Cefic warns ETS reform risks deindustrialisation
Written by Natalie Noor-Drugan
Cefic has sharpened its warning over the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), saying the European Commission’s July revision proposal could accelerate deindustrialisation despite including some of the changes industry had asked for.
In our 30 June article, we reported Cefic’s position paper “The Future of the ETS, priorities for the chemical industry”, which called for a slower cap decline, stronger carbon leakage safeguards, no extra conditionality on free allocation, and better use of ETS revenues to support low carbon investment. The new 17 July statement responds to the Commission’s draft law, arguing that while the cap trajectory is flattened and the use of international carbon credits is opened up, these positives are “fully offset by a drastic conditioning of free allocation”.
