Don’t let high gas prices stop the EU ETS from doing its real job
The EU ETS carbon price reached a high of over €60 per tonne in September. Some are arguing that its role in the current gas price crisis is a reason why it should be reined in. But Milan Elkerbout at CEPS Policy Insights explains that the EUA (European Union Allowance) has multiple purposes. It is an incentive to invest in low-carbon solutions such as renewables, efficiencies and new methods. The sooner we pass the cost hurdle of integrating cheap renewables, the sooner we’ll get their low prices. Furthermore, governments earn revenues which they can and do allocate towards protecting low income households as well as key industries needing transition support. How, who and how much that is done should always be up for debate, and Elkerbout gives examples. But the gas prices we’re seeing today do not mean that the ETS is failing. Rather, policy makers should keep focus on driving emissions down, the Green Deal and Fit-for-55 package, a ‘just transition’, and use the tools that best deliver on these core issues.
The EU’s carbon price in its emissions trading system (EU ETS) reached €62 per tonne in September 2021. This ETS price is slightly over three times higher than in March 2020, when pandemic panic gripped global markets. However, compared to 2008, the price of an ETS allowance (European Union Allowance – EUA), then at an inflation-adjusted level of €35, has to date not yet doubled (see figure 1). In the decade following 2009, the EU’s economy expanded by 16%, stock market indices such as the DAX30 or CAC40 tripled while the EUA price reached as low as €2.90 by 2015.
Whether carbon prices are low or high thus depends on the timeframe examined and perceptions about the role of carbon pricing in the economy. Appraisals of the ETS price always therefore remain normative and political.

不要让高油价阻止欧盟排放交易系统(ETS)发挥其真正的作用
今年9月，欧盟排放交易系统(EU ETS)的碳价格达到了每吨逾60欧元的高点。一些人认为，它在当前天然气价格危机中所扮演的角色是它应该受到限制的一个原因。但是CEPS政策研究中心的米兰·埃尔克布特(Milan Elkerbout)解释说，欧盟津贴有多种用途。这是对可再生能源、效率和新方法等低碳解决方案投资的一种激励。我们越早通过整合廉价可再生能源的成本障碍，我们就能越早获得它们的低价格。此外，政府赚取的收入能够而且确实用于保护低收入家庭以及需要过渡支持的关键行业。如何、谁以及做了多少应该一直是值得讨论的问题，埃尔克布特给出了例子。但我们今天看到的天然气价格并不意味着ETS失败了。相反，政策制定者应该把重点放在降低排放、绿色协议和适合55岁的一揽子计划上，这是一个“公正的过渡”，并使用在这些核心问题上最有效的工具。
欧盟排放交易系统(EU ETS)的碳价格在2021年9月达到每吨62欧元。这一交易价格略高于2020年3月全球市场大流行病恐慌时的三倍多。然而，与2008年相比，ETS(欧盟津贴)的价格，当时在通货膨胀调整后的35欧元的水平上，至今还没有翻倍(见图1)。在2009年之后的十年里，欧盟经济增长了16%，到2015年，DAX30或CAC40等股指上涨了两倍，而EUA的价格低至2.90欧元。
因此，碳价格是低还是高，取决于审查的时间框架和对碳价格在经济中的作用的看法。因此，对ETS价格的评估始终保持规范性和政治性。

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