Mandatory measures vital to provide certainty and boost UK industry

Responding to the Government’s announcements on UK ETS reform and the introduction of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Rachel Solomon Williams, Executive Director of the Aldersgate Group, said: “We welcome the Government’s announcement today on the introduction of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism by 2027 and the confirmed extension of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to 2050. These are important measures that will provide certainty for businesses and investors on the future of British industry in an increasingly competitive global market. The additional support through product standards and an embodied emissions reporting framework will also be helpful in providing a framework to grow demand for low carbon products.

To maximise the positive impact of these measures, though, it is vital that Government looks seriously at making the proposed voluntary product standards mandatory. As we know from extensive discussions with industry, voluntary standards are unlikely to produce the change needed to establish markets for low carbon industrial products: they must be made mandatory to effectively reduce emissions and to set the foundations for a strong low carbon industrial sector. It will also be essential to phase out free allowances under the UK’s Emissions Trading Scheme as the CBAM is introduced, to ensure that the overall system incentivises decarbonisation while protecting industry.”