Eurofer: EU carbon directive must be implemented fairly

How much will the volume of EUAs be down in 2013? How proactive will the European Commission be? Will it veer towards a 30% cut?

SBB 2 July 2010 European steel producers association, Eurofer, has reiterated to Steel Business Briefing its concerns over the supply of European Union Allocations (EUAs) in phase III (2012-2020) of the European Emissions Trading System (ETS).

The European Commission missed a deadline on 30 June to publish the total number of EUAs to be made available in phase III. When questioned, EC spokesman, Lena de Visscher, told SBB the announcement would now be made “in the next few days”.

“The volume of EUAs available in 2013 will be much below the average of the second trading period [2008-2012],” warns Eurofer spokesman, Axel Eggert. According to the EC directive the total number of EUAs will decrease at a constant rate from 2013 but, because the decrease is to be measured from the ‘mid-point’ of phase II, a sharper decline will be seen in 2013.

Although the general model for phase III allocations has been set out, details are thin on the ground. The system could be either too lenient to be effective in cutting emissions, or so strict that it becomes punitive for steel producers. “The provisions of the directive must therefore be implemented in a way that a fair quantity is available and not reduced to the lowest possible level”, Eggert adds.

The method of auctioning EUAs in phase III will be voted on by the EU climate change committee on 14 July, SBB notes.

ArcelorMittal has no plans to sell EU carbon allocations

Yet another report on the EU steel industry’s surplus EUAs: this time from Sandbag. I would say it is fairly inevitable that the steel industry in Europe has excess allowances for 2008 and 2009, given the 30% decline in crude production in the EU in 2009. And given the declining cap on allowances/emissions in phase 3, also fairly predicatble that the mills would want to hang on to most, if not all their EUAs.

SBB 12 March ArcelorMittal has no plans to sell its surplus EUAs (European Union Allowances) gained under the EU’s carbon Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Moreover it tells Steel Business Briefing, any proceeds from any possible sale in the future would be reinvested into improving the company’s energy efficiency.

A recent report by UK-based climate campaigner, Sandbag, suggests ArcelorMittal accumulated a surplus of 14.4m EUAs in 2008, worth some €200m, and a further 42m EUAs in 2009. These figures were not confirmed by the company.

The report also claims SSAB, Corus, Salzgitter and US Steel gained surplus EUAs. The second largest surplus was held by SSAB which reportedly gained 3.25m EUAs in 2008. Again, these figures were not confirmed to SBB by the companies in question.

But ArcelorMittal has told SBB it had expected a deficit of EUAs in 2008 as the new regulations for Phase II of the scheme took effect. But cut backs in production during the downturn in 2008/9 lead to a reduction in emissions, generating a surplus in EUAs.

Though the EUAs have a high sale value, ArcelorMittal says it takes the long view and may need surplus EUAs in the future. Its emissions will increase as production picks up. Surplus EUAs carried into Phase III (2013-2020) could be used to cover excess carbon emissions in this period, the company notes.

Over the three years 2007-2009, ArcelorMittal made a $108m net gain from the sale of purchased international carbon credits, according to its latest annual report.