Antonio Gozzi, special advisor for European strategic autonomy, competitiveness and the Mattei Plan at Confindustria, the main association representing manufacturing and service companies in Italy, has once again drawn attention to the need for a revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), stressing the importance of correcting certain mechanisms which currently risk undermining the competitiveness of European industry. He made the remarks in Brussels during a Confindustria press conference dedicated to the issue.
According to Gozzi, the ETS has played an important role in the decarbonization path of European industry, but developments in recent years have made pragmatic action necessary. Since 2017, he recalled, the price of CO₂ has risen from around €5-8 per metric ton to nearly €100 per metric ton, leading to a sharp increase in costs for the European production system. This increase, he pointed out, has no equivalent in the main competing economies: in markets such as California, for example, the carbon price stands at around $25 per metric ton.
Gozzi also underlined that the impact of the ETS does not concern only companies’ direct emissions but is also reflected in electricity costs. According to various estimates, the mechanism contributes around €25-30/MWh to electricity prices during the hours when prices are set by gas-fired thermoelectric plants. This is a particularly significant factor in Europe, he noted, where energy prices are already substantially higher than in other major economic areas.
For this reason, Confindustria is calling for a pragmatic revision of the ETS, with action on the mechanisms that have contributed to excessively reducing the availability of allowances and increasing costs for companies, while not calling into question the decarbonization targets. “It is positive that the issue has finally entered the European debate,” Gozzi stated, reiterating that the goal must be to combine ecological transition and industrial competitiveness, while preventing European companies from being placed at a disadvantage compared to their international competitors.
Gozzi’s latest remarks are part of a debate that had already emerged in recent weeks, when he repeatedly highlighted the critical issues surrounding the ETS and the need to correct its impact on European industry. The issue falls within a broader context of growing pressure over energy and regulatory costs, which, according to Confindustria, must be addressed through measures capable of supporting the transition without jeopardizing the industrial resilience of the continent.