Open letter to Members of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy of the European Parliament on the revision of the EU ETS

A coalition of networks and organizations calls for an ambitious revision of the EU ETS to stop the use of Article 10c and the Modernisation Fund for fossil fuel capacity, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. They advocate for a higher carbon price to disincentivize coal and the redirection of funds toward energy efficiency and renewable energy.

• The authors argue that Article 10c of the EU ETS Directive, intended to help countries modernize energy sources, has instead been used to approve a majority of up to €12 billion for the expansion and modernization of fossil fuel capacity, including lignite and hard coal, in Central and Eastern Europe.
• The current carbon price, which is below €5, is deemed insufficient to drive a transition to low-carbon technologies and instead supports the maintenance of long-lived coal infrastructure. The letter proposes tightening the ETS cap to increase the carbon price and requires power producers in all EU Member States to purchase 100% of their allowances at auction.
• The signatories demand that both the Modernisation Fund and Article 10c exclude investments in new and existing coal energy, as well as coal-powered co-generation and district heating. They argue that allowing coal investments in these areas would create loopholes to extend the life of combined heat and power (CHP) coal plants.
• The letter notes that between 2013 and 2020, coal power plants were allocated 179Mt of free permits for heat, valued at a minimum of €1 billion under Article 10a(4) of the EU ETS directive.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2016). Open letter to Members of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy of the European Parliament on the revision of the EU ETS. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Open-letter-to-ITRE_coal-subsidies-through-EU-ETS-2.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Open letter to Members of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy of the European Parliament on the revision of the EU ETS. 2016. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Open-letter-to-ITRE_coal-subsidies-through-EU-ETS-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Open letter to Members of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy of the European Parliament on the revision of the EU ETS |date=October 2016 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Open-letter-to-ITRE_coal-subsidies-through-EU-ETS-2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2016open, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Open letter to Members of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy of the European Parliament on the revision of the EU ETS}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2016}, month = oct, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Open-letter-to-ITRE_coal-subsidies-through-EU-ETS-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }