As the EU has expressed reservations about allowing Britain to link to its carbon cap-and-trade system after Brexit, Máximo Miccinilli (CERRE’s Energy Director) comments on what a future EU-UK system might look like.
He told the FT that “any linking of post-Brexit Britain to the ETS would need to be handled with care. The Swiss model is not one that could be easily followed by the UK due to the size of the economy and its weight in the system. The UK at present makes up around 10 per cent of the ETS carbon credit supply.”
“It took a decade to link the EU and Swiss ETS systems. Linking a new UK cap-and-trade system with the EU ETS will require a much faster and dynamic process than the EU-Swiss linkage experience. To avoid another Brexit-related struggle, you have to involve the UK authorities in the European Commission’s plans to reform ETS next year.”
