The European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (EUROCHAMBRES), on Thursday 12 March, called for their position to be taken into account in the ongoing revision of State Aid guidelines in the context of the greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme after 2021.
According to the organisation, all sectors and sub-sectors for which the indirect costs of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) create a risk of carbon leakage should be able to benefit from indirect cost compensation. This applies in particular to 'price takers' who cannot pass on their additional costs to customers. The strongly shortened list of eligible sectors “is not in line with this requirement”, which is why EUROCHAMBRES urges the European Commission to extend the list to sectors that are 'price-takers'.
Aid intensity. The Commission proposes to keep the aid intensity at a stable level throughout ETS trading phase IV. This intensity should be at a compensation level of at least 85%. For best performers, this should be set at 100%, according to EUROCHAMBRES, in order not to undermine the effectiveness of carbon leakage protection provisions of the ETS Directive.
Geographical zones. The proposal to split the regions into even more zones “undermines the political objective of linking national energy markets”, according to EUROCHAMBRES.
Conditionality. The compensation for indirect CO2 costs aims at reimbursing electricity-intensive sectors for these incurred costs. EUROCHAMBRES “understands” the proposal of a certain conditionality to incentivise industries to make additional efforts, “however if not designed well, it will undermine the primary objective, namely the prevention of carbon leakage”. “The conditionality requirements in their current form do not reflect business reality”, criticises EUROCHAMBRES.
A pay-back period of five years for investments related to the recommendations of an energy audit, as proposed in the Draft Communication, “do not reflect business reality and should be decreased”, says EUROCHAMBRES.
For on-site renewable energy generation, the share of 50% coverage is simply not realistic, EUROCHAMBRES points out. Last but not least, the option to invest a share of at least 80% of the received amount in projects that reduce the emissions of the installation “seems to miss the actual objective of the compensation scheme”.
The Commission launched from 14 January to 10 March a public consultation on the draft EU ETS State Aid Guidelines. Following the possible review of the climate policy mix with a view to achieving further reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, the Commission will verify whether a revision of the Guidelines is necessary to ensure compatibility with the objective of climate neutrality. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)