Facilitation for industry in EU emissions trading

Additional free certificates to make it easier for industry in EU emissions trading As of: November 13, 2026 • 10:44 a.m

Industry in the EU should have to pay less for emissions. Negotiators from the EU Parliament and member states agreed to allocate additional free emission certificates to affected industries for a limited period of time.

According to the European Parliament, industry should be able to save several billion euros through a temporary change in the EU emissions trading system. Negotiators from Parliament and the EU states agreed overnight to allocate around 120 million additional free EU emissions trading certificates to the industry for the period from 2026 to 2030.

The negotiators are therefore going beyond the EU Commission's proposal, which, according to the authority, would have saved the affected sectors around six billion euros. Since the agreement now provides for even more free certificates, the expected savings are increasing, according to Parliament. The compromise still needs to be formally adopted by Parliament and Member States.

In July, the EU Commission proposed further adjustments to the emissions trading system to support European industry in the face of high energy prices and competition from abroad and to avoid migration. Accordingly, the number of CO2 certificates should decline more slowly than previously planned. This would mean that industry in Europe would be allowed to emit more carbon dioxide for longer. The climate goals are therefore more difficult to achieve. The EU actually wants to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040 compared to 1990.

This topic in the program: MDR aktuell | News | 11/13/2026 | 07:30 am