Big EU lobby groups exaggerated industry support for attack on carbon price

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🗞️ Driving the news: Major EU industry lobby groups appear to have exaggerated support for a petition attacking the bloc’s carbon pricing system
• The letter presented to EU leaders suggested it represented around 1,350 companies, but several firms later said they never endorsed the demands to reduce “carbon costs” under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS)

🔭 The context: The petition was unveiled during the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, where business leaders urged policymakers to reduce energy and carbon costs
• The call was widely interpreted as an attempt to weaken the EU ETS, the bloc’s flagship climate policy requiring companies to pay for greenhouse-gas emissions
• After the event, comments from Friedrich Merz about revising the system triggered a rapid drop in carbon prices, highlighting the sensitivity of the market to political signals

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The EU ETS regulates roughly half of the European Union’s emissions and is considered one of the world’s most effective carbon pricing mechanisms
• Weakening confidence in the system, even through lobbying campaigns, could undermine investment signals needed to accelerate industrial decarbonization and meet the EU’s climate targets

⏭️ What’s next: EU leaders are expected to revisit carbon pricing and energy costs at upcoming policy meetings, including a summit scheduled later this month
• The debate may shape potential reforms to the ETS and broader industrial policy as Europe balances climate ambition with competitiveness concerns

💬 One quote: “Carbon prices provide the most suitable market signal to drive decarbonization of production and products.” - Tiffanie Stephani, vice president for European government relations at Yara International

📈 One stat: The EU Emissions Trading System regulates around 50% of the EU’s greenhouse-gas emissions

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