Germany generates record €3.9 bln EU emissions trading revenues in first half of 2023

[Update adds link to report]

Germany has generated a record 3.89 billion euros from the sale of allowances under the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in the first half of 2023 (up 14 percent from €3.4 bln in H1 2022), calculations by German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) show. Due to an overall higher emissions allowance price in the first half of the current year, the average revenue of 87.11 euros per tonne of CO2 was clearly above the previous year's value (2022: 80.32 euros), the organisation (which is part of the German Environment Agency (UBA)) told Clean Energy Wire. The calculations are part of a quarterly report by DEHSt. Revenue from the national CO2 price on transport and heating fuels in the first half of 2023 amounted to an additional 600 million euros (down from €650 mln last year), said DEHSt. Last year, the bulk of certificates in the national system was sold in the last quarter of the year, and total 2022 revenue amounted to 6.4 billion euros. Due to the energy crisis and higher prices, the government had decided not to raise the CO2 price at the start of this year, as they had previously planned.

The European Union’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) – which puts a price on climate change inducing CO2 emissions from power plants, energy-intensive heavy industry and some civil aviation – has been a key driver of decarbonisation in recent years, and the EU has decided to set up a similar scheme for the transport and heating sectors (ETS II). Germany already has a price on transport and heating fuel emissions, which will need to be aligned with EU plans. Revenues from the CO2 price systems go into the German Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) and are then used for measures to support the climate-friendly transition.