EU court ruling on pollution freebies sends strong message ahead of final emissions trading talks

Carbon Market Watch calls for the curtailment of free carbon allowances in the EU ETS following a court ruling requiring ArcelorMittal to return wrongfully received permits. The organization warns that current trialogue negotiations may result in the allocation of an additional 300 to 775 million free permits for heavy industry, contradicting the 'polluter pays' principle. The text advocates for increased auctioning of permits, the inclusion of importers in emission costs, and the potential introduction of a carbon tax to drive industrial decarbonization.

• The European Court of Justice ruled that ArcelorMittal must return nearly 81,000 free carbon permits received in 2012 after the company failed to notify Luxembourg authorities in time about the closure of its Schifflange site.
• ArcelorMittal's own financial reports indicate the company earned over €500 million from the EU ETS since 2009 by selling excess free permits.
• In response to a court ruling that carbon-intensive industries were over-allocated, the European Commission reduced free pollution permits by up to 37 million allowances for the period from 1 March 2017 to 2020.
• Despite the 'polluter pays' principle, a majority of the European Parliament and environment ministers are seeking to grant heavy industry an additional 300 to 775 million free pollution permits beyond the existing 6.3 billion.
• Steel companies have successfully lobbied for over-compensation for waste gases, which the document claims increases the number of free allowances and contradicts a Court of Justice ruling.

APA

Brandt, D. A., & Amaral, K. (2017). EU court ruling on pollution freebies sends strong message ahead of final emissions trading talks. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2017/03/30/eu-court-ruling-on-pollution-freebies-sends-strong-message-ahead-of-final-emissions-trading-talks/

Chicago

Brandt, Dr. Agnes, and Kaisa Amaral. EU court ruling on pollution freebies sends strong message ahead of final emissions trading talks. Carbon Market Watch, 2017. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2017/03/30/eu-court-ruling-on-pollution-freebies-sends-strong-message-ahead-of-final-emissions-trading-talks/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Brandt |first1=Dr. Agnes |last2=Amaral |first2=Kaisa |title=EU court ruling on pollution freebies sends strong message ahead of final emissions trading talks |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=30 March 2017 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2017/03/30/eu-court-ruling-on-pollution-freebies-sends-strong-message-ahead-of-final-emissions-trading-talks/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{brandt2017court, author = {Brandt, Dr. Agnes and Amaral, Kaisa}, title = {{EU court ruling on pollution freebies sends strong message ahead of final emissions trading talks}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2017}, month = mar, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2017/03/30/eu-court-ruling-on-pollution-freebies-sends-strong-message-ahead-of-final-emissions-trading-talks/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }