Linking EU ETS with Australia: Commission recommends opening formal negotiations

The European Commission today submitted to the Council a recommendation to open negotiations on linking the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) with Australia's domestic trading system. The Commission will formally open the negotiations once a mandate is received from the Council.

This request for a mandate follows the agreement reached between the Commission and Australia in August 2012 on a pathway towards establishing - by 1 July 2018 at the latest - a full two-way link between the EU ETS and the Australian emissions trading scheme. Under this arrangement, businesses will be allowed to use carbon units from the EU ETS or the Australian scheme for compliance under either system.

A negotiating mandate has already been granted by the Council to the Commission to enter into linking negotiations with Switzerland and these are progressing. Today’s proposal launches the formal process to establish the first ever inter-continental linking of emissions trading systems.

Read more:

• 28 August 2012 - Australia and European Commission agree on pathway towards fully linking emissions trading systems
• Linking the EU ETS to other Emissions Trading Systems