Greenhouse gas emissions under the EU ETS dipped by 4.5% in 2014

According to the European Union Registry, greenhouse gas emissions under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) decreased by around 4.5% in 2014, to 1,812 MtCO₂eq. The cumulative surplus in emission allowances dipped slightly, from around 2.1 bn to 2.07 bn in 2014 (auction volumes were reduced by 400 million allowances following the start of the implementation of the back-loading measure, postponing the allowance auctioning). The EU ETS covers more than 11 000 power plants and manufacturing installations in the 28 EU Member States, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, as well as emissions from airlines flying between European airports. Verified emissions from aviation activities in the European Economic Area (EEA) amounted to 54.9 MtCO₂ in 2014 (+2.8% compared to 2013).

Since March 2014, international credits can be exchanged into allowances: in 2014, 388.44 million were exchanged, including 195.91 million Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) and 192.53 million Emission Reduction Units (ERUs). More than 3/4 of CERs originated from China and more than 3/4 of ERUs came from Ukraine.

In May 2015, the European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement to establish a Market Stability Reserve in 2018 to address the surplus of emission allowances that has built up and improve the EU ETS's resilience to shocks by adjusting the supply of allowances to be auctioned.