Report

Study on the Impacts on Low Carbon Actions and Investments of the Installations Falling under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)

Carbon abatement and the carbon price were not the primary driving factors for most companies and sectors to invest in carbon-efficient solutions. Instead, the main impetus came from the need for companies to reduce energy and raw material costs and their broader strategic turn toward sustainable production, based on increasing environmental awareness of stakeholders and consumer markets. Nevertheless, the EU ETS – especially in its early phases, based on higher actual and expected carbon prices – seems to have played a supportive role in many decisions. That is concluded in the study ‘Study on the Impacts On Low Carbon Actions and Investments of the Installations Falling Under The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)’.

The project was led by ICF International working in partnership with SQ Consult, CE Delft and ZEW, commissioned by the European Commission (DG Climate Action).