The Institute for Impact Assessment and Scientific Evaluation of Policy and Legislation
Study on the Impact Assessment on the ETS post-2020 revision
February 11th 2016
​
The IAI studied the Commission's Impact Assessment SWD(2015) 135 accompanying its legislative proposal on the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) for the post-2020 period. Fundamental to the legislation is the already adopted 40% greenhouse gas reduction target by 2030, which was supported by the Impact Assessment for the January 2014 Commission Communication on Climate & Energy Policy to 2030.
However, the 2014 Impact Assessment utilised an analytical model whose inputs and outputs were not published and whose algorithms are not available for public scrutiny.
The result is that EU Climate & Energy policy and the ETS revision legilstion are based on intransparent data and analysis, preventing validation by stakeholders of the targets and policy measures.
In addition, the ETS revision Impact Assessment does not explicitly assess. This denies stakeholders the possibility to analyse the specific evidence and rationale behind the choosen legislative approach.
​
In conclusion, to allow independent validation of EU Climate & Energy Policy and the ETS legislation, all details of the underlying models should be publicly available. This would generate confidence amongst all stakeholders in the policy provisions and legislation, enhancing the value and level of acceptance of the final outcome.
​
​
