Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 25, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEU countries demand stricter CO2 price controls to prevent consumer cost spikes in the upcoming carbon market, set to launch in 2027.
By Kate Abnett
BONN (Reuters) -Germany, the Czech Republic and 14 other countries have demanded the European Union introduce stricter price controls to the bloc's new carbon market, over fears the policy will raise consumers' bills, a document seen by Reuters showed.
The paper, which has support from enough countries to form the "qualified majority" needed to pass EU laws, aims to pressure the European Commission to change the EU carbon market for transport and heating fuels, which is due to launch in 2027.
"To address the legitimate concerns around price uncertainty and social impacts and to strengthen the public acceptance of the system, improvements should be considered already prior to the market's launch," the paper said.
The new EU carbon market will impose a CO2 price on suppliers of polluting fuels used in cars and buildings. It is designed so that if the CO2 price hits 45 euros, extra CO2 permits will be released into the market to tame prices.
The countries proposed strengthening this, to add more CO2 permits to the market if prices spike.
The EU should also strengthen a special "reserve" that adds extra permits to the market if supply is tight, alongside other changes including launching carbon permit auctions early, to give an indication of prices, they said.
The document was also signed by Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
Countries including Poland and the Czech Republic have previously warned the policy could stoke a backlash against ambitious climate change measures if it raises fuel bills.
The EU has agreed that billions of euros in proceeds from the new market will be set aside to help citizens pay bills, subsidise electric cars and energy-saving home renovations.
The EU has scaled back green policies this year, as it attempts to contain a political pushback on its green agenda.
The EU has not so far watered down its core emissions-cutting targets. But the Commission is considering weakening a planned climate target for 2040, to attempt to win support from sceptical countries, Reuters previously reported.
The Commission is due to propose the 2040 climate target on July 2.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett, editing by Ed Osmond)
Germany, the Czech Republic, and 14 other EU countries demand stricter price controls on the new carbon market to address concerns about price uncertainty and social impacts.
If the CO2 price hits 45 euros, extra CO2 permits will be released into the market to help stabilize prices.
The EU plans to set aside billions of euros from the new carbon market to assist citizens with their bills, subsidize electric cars, and support energy-saving home renovations.
Countries like Poland and the Czech Republic have warned that the new carbon pricing policy could lead to increased fuel bills, potentially causing public backlash against climate change measures.
While the EU has not weakened its core emissions-cutting targets, the Commission is considering adjustments to the planned climate target for 2040 to gain support from skeptical countries.
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