Over the past two decades, the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) has helped cut greenhouse gas emissions from power, industry, aviation and maritime sectors in half.

On July 17th, 2026, the European Commission presented its proposal to revise the scheme. 

Against calls from civil society, progressive industry, companies, and even governments urging the Commission not to mess with the ETS, the proposal opens the door to blunt one of the EU’s most important and effective climate tools.

Rolling back past progress weakens the effectiveness of Europe’s flagship climate policy and pushes the EU’s climate targets further out of reach. 

Our article series reacting to the launch and position paper set out the key priorities policymakers must consider to bring the EU Emissions Trading System back on track and accelerate the continent’s transition away from fossil fuels.