The European Steel Association (EUROFER) reacted to the official publication of the Commission proposal on the revision on the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The industry calls on EU policy makers to ensure that the proposal is adjusted in order to fully offset direct and indirect carbon costs at the level of the most efficient steel plants in Europe. These plants are exposed to fierce global competition and have been repeatedly recognised as being at a very high risk of carbon leakage.
“We appeal to policy makers to take this threat seriously and not ignore the clear results of the impact assessments or the anticipated effects on the EU steel industry. EUROFER is, however, concerned that several elements of the revision risk the continued competitiveness of the continent’s steel industry. In its current form, the proposal represents a missed opportunity to fix the fundamental flaws of the EU ETS. Despite the well-accepted importance to the economy of a competitive industrial base, the proposal is at odds with the goals of the European Commission’s Agenda on Jobs, Growth and Investment. It also fails to take into account the European Council guidelines on the importance of preventing carbon and investment leakage that were reinstated in the recently adopted text of the Market Stability Reserve” , said Axel Eggert, director general of EUROFER.
