14/07/26 (Agence Europe) – According to a document addressed to the EU Council’s Working Party on the Environment dated 17 April 2026, more than 3.2 billion allowances have been invalidated in the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS or ‘ETS’) market stability reserve (MSR) since 2019. The European Commission expects allowances to become increasingly scarce starting in the mid-2030s, which is why it amended the MSR in April 2026 (see EUROPE 13841/1). Another document, dated 3 June, reveals that a total of more than 1 billion allowances were in circulation in 2025, including 518 million allowances that were available for free (‘new entrants reserve’)—well below 2016 levels (more than 1.6 billion). Even so, the MSR threshold was not reached in 2025, since around 200 million allowances were placed in the reserve and the threshold is set at 400 million. (ND)