A tonne of carbon dioxide emissions trades for more than €90 on the European market. It is the high price of emission allowances that is often cited as one of the main factors behind the record high cost of energy.
High energy prices plague most countries in Europe and the world. Poland has now appealed to the European Union to introduce a control mechanism as soon as possible to prevent speculators from accessing the emissions trading market. In the last year and a half, they have become a relatively valuable financial asset that is being bought not only by energy or industrial companies, but also by financial institutions.
The Polish climate minister, Anna Moskwa, met with the EU climate policy commissioner, Frans Timmermans, to discuss ways to tame emissions allowance prices. EU leaders are already working on a key reform of the emissions trading market.
“It is absolutely essential for us to exclude financial institutions from the trading system as soon as possible. The second demand is to abolish the system where free emission allowances are withdrawn from the market,” Moskwa said in a statement. According to her, Brussels is now completely toothless in its efforts to protect the emissions trading market from speculators.
