The decision by the European Commission (EC) to suspend carbon emissions allowances issued by the UK government under the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is expected to remain valid until the UK is able to reach a deal with the EU on the country's exit from the union, Richard Warren, head of policy at industry body UK Steel, told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 18.
Allowances issued by the UK were suspended from the ETS on January 1, 2019, a decision which could be a significant financial blow to UK steelmakers. The suspension will remain in place over the six-month extension that will delay the UK's departure from the EU ("Brexit") until October 31.The decision only affects UK-based industrial installations, including steel mills. So any allowances issued in other EU countries to their domestic steel mills, but which are owned by companies that also own UK assets, will still be valid.This would include allowances allocated to Tata Steel's plant in The Netherlands, Celsa Steel's plants in Spain and British Steel's plants in France.Allowances purchased on the open market will also remain valid for UK steel mills to use."The EC has effectively invalidated any allowances issued by the UK government because it...