Vigenin: A temporary exit from the Emissions Trading Scheme for coal-fired power plants could bring energy prices down

“Europe is facing unprecedented energy pressure and needs pragmatic solutions that ease the burden on households and business without calling long-term climate policy into question.” This was stated in Brussels by Bulgarian MEP Kristian Vigenin from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament in a speech devoted to the role of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in conditions of an energy crisis.

In his words, the Emissions Trading Scheme remains a key instrument for decarbonisation and for encouraging investment in clean energy, and undermining its predictability would threaten Europe’s competitiveness and the energy transition. “The Emissions Trading Scheme is a strategic instrument, but the current situation calls for a flexible approach,” Vigenin stressed.

Measures against price pressure

The MEP insisted that the European Commission use all available mechanisms to limit price pressure through targeted support and temporary measures to stabilise the market. In this context Vigenin pointed to the need to discuss short-term adjustments in the application of the Emissions Trading Scheme that would provide greater price stability without weakening the EU’s climate goals.

As a concrete option he proposed temporarily taking coal-fired thermal power plants out of the scope of the scheme: “Such an extraordinary step would allow cheaper electricity to be produced and would have a direct positive effect on the whole economy.” According to Vigenin, measures of this kind have to be clearly limited in time and aimed at overcoming the current crisis, without undermining the EU’s long-term strategy for climate neutrality.

“European citizens and industry expect quick, balanced and realistic solutions that both protect the economy and guarantee the sustainable energy transition,” Kristian Vigenin stressed in conclusion.