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Revised EU ETS state aid guidelines published
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The European Commission published, on 21 September 2020, its revision of the EU ETS State Aid guidelines for the compensation of indirect carbon costs for the period 2021-2030. These revised guidelines are designed to support sectors that, like steel, are most at risk of carbon leakage.
The publication follows the recent Commission’s proposal on increasing the 2030 climate targets. In the absence of comparable efforts by trading partners, it is important to develop a strengthened framework of measures to address the risk of carbon leakage, with benchmark-based free allocation and indirect costs compensation, as well as an effective carbon border adjustment mechanism
Compensation for indirect costs incurred by the steel industry is an essential measure to mitigate the risk of carbon leakage due to the carbon costs passed on to the steel sector from the energy sector.
EUROFER has the following overall perspective on the revision:
The European steel sector is committed to emissions reduction, and compensation for indirect carbon costs forms an essential part of the policy framework necessary to ensure that the sector can continue to decarbonise whilst remaining globally competitive.
Brussels, 15 July 2024 – The proposal for a European Pact for Steel, presented by the German delegation to the European People’s Party (EPP), is a timely initiative in view of the start of the new EU legislative period. The European Steel Association strongly backs the creation of an EU high-level group, led by a renowned political personality, to ensure the success of the transition of the EU steel sector with rapid interventions, and urges Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to endorse it.
Brussels, 25 June 2024 – The EU decision to continue the steel safeguard for another two-year period is a much-needed step towards ensuring the stability of the steel market amidst the highest levels of import penetration ever recorded in the EU. However, as global excess capacity is projected to increase even further in the coming years, a longer-term solution needs to be developed to address this structural challenge, says the European Steel Association.
Joint Statement