The European carbon market has fallen sharply recently, with benchmark EU carbon prices falling sharply after several major EU leaders called for an overhaul of the bloc's Emissions Trading System (ETS), according to a Reuters report.
On February 12, the EU's benchmark carbon contract fell about seven percent to €73.08/tCO2, after previously hitting € 72.18/t, the lowest level since August. The decline followed comments from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said the EU should be open to revising or delaying parts of the ETS framework.
Speaking at a meeting with industry leaders in Antwerp, Merz said policymakers should be "very open" to revising or delaying the system amid growing industrial concerns over high carbon costs. The ETS is the EU's central climate policy instrument, requiring power producers and industrial companies to buy emissions credits and gradually reducing the total number of permits available over time.
European leaders push for intervention
Other European leaders echoed similar concerns during the Competitiveness Summit on 12 February in Antwerp. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for a thorough overhaul of the ETS and urged politicians to curb what she called financial speculation in the carbon market.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis repeated his previous proposal to cap the carbon price at €30/mt asserting that such a step would be
