The European Commission has decided to maintain the 30 April 2020 deadline for European companies to surrender emissions trading system (ETS) carbon allowances, considering that the existing rules provide enough flexibility for companies to submit verified emissions reports around that date.
Under the EU ETS, power utilities, large industrials and airlines active in Europe have to report their annual ETS emissions by 31 March and have to surrender permits to cover emissions by 30 April. Some industrial lobbies have asked for delays in a context of shut factories - the Polish government also proposed to stop the entire ETS due to the coronavirus epidemic - while environmental groups fear delays might disrupt the carbon market.
EU ETS prices are plummeting due to the global economic shutdown; in March 2020, the average price fell by close to 40% from €25/tCO2 to €15/tCO2, a near two-year low. Such a low price may improve the profitability of coal- and lignite-fired power plants, which had to limit their operations against high carbon prices in 2019.
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