12/04/2021 (Agence Europe) – While greenhouse gas emissions from sectors covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) fell by 13.9% between 2019 and 2020 due to Covid-19, reaching 1,377 billion tonnes (MT) last year, the surplus of allowances rose from 1,219 MT to 1,392 MT, an increase of 14.2%, says an analysis by the Sandbag think tank published on 8 April. For the organisation, this increase “shows once more that the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) does not even withdraw enough emission allowances to stop the surplus from growing, let alone reduce it”. It should be noted that Sandbag’s analysis is based on preliminary and incomplete data published by the European Commission, which explains the difference in figures with a similar analysis by Refinitiv (see EUROPE 12692/24). See Sandbag’s analysis: https://bit.ly/3tiobwg (DG)