Czechia: Scandinavia opposes changes to EU ETS 2: will 2026 be a battle over ETS?

Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Luxembourg issued a joint statement this week arguing against delaying or making further changes to the EU ETS 2 system. This came a day before a meeting of envoys who were due to discuss the system’s further development. The countries in question primarily argue for the need for a stable investment environment.

The four countries argue that the system, which the EU plans to launch in 2028, should remain unchanged so that companies and households can decide what investments to make. Their statement runs counter to the position of sixteen EU countries, including Czechia, which want to reform the system. These countries issued a similar document last year, before the agreement to delay the system’s introduction by one year from its originally planned 2027 start. It proposed ways of adjusting the system, from increasing the number of allowances and bringing forward the first auctions to extending the operation of the market stability reserve mechanism.