La directiva sobre el mercado de derechos de emisión en la UE y sus efectos sobre los sectores productivos españoles

Abstract

The 87/2003/EC, which sets up a CO2 emissions trading scheme in the EU (EU ETS) starting on January 1st 2005, represents the first and most relevant international experience of this sort in the world. The political courage to implement this system should be praised. The need to reach a compromise between a wide array of actors with different interests and strategies is reflected in the major design features of the system. Although the design of the system can be generally considered as reaching a good balance between potentially conflicting criteria, it has its strong and weak points. This is probably a consequence of the effort to reach such compromise. This paper analyses the major features of the EU ETS in the light of the major criteria put forward by the theoretical and empirical literature on emissions trading. The most problematic aspects are considered. This is complemented by a general analysis of the economic impact of the EU ETS on Spanish sectors.