ETS : New rules start to take shape

Commission and member states slammed

Implementation of the EU's ETS and the framework in place to protect the market's integrity have to be improved, says a 2 July report by the EU Court of Auditors. It notes that the Commission and member states have not properly managed all the different aspects of the ETS, a key component of the Union's climate and energy policy. The Union's auditors note that there have been steady improvements made, on the Commission's initiative, to protect the scheme's integrity as a market-based mechanism but that there are still problems to be addressed to further improve its integrity. Implementation of the ETS was also affected by significant weaknesses during the second phase (2008-2012). The Court of Auditors makes a number of recommendations to improve market regulation and oversight in order to boost investors' confidence and to ensure use of the ETS as an environmental policy tool.