To:
- Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
- Wopke Hoekstra, EU Commissioner for Climate, Climate Neutrality and Clean Growth
- Dan Jørgensen, EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing
- Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition
- Heads of State and Government of the European Union
- Chairs of the Political Groups in the European Parliament
The undersigned:
77 businesses, industry associations, and civil society organisations call on the European Commission, the European Parliament, and Member States to ensure the ambitious and timely implementation of ETS2.
ETS2 is a cornerstone of Europe’s strategy to strengthen competitiveness, accelerate clean technology investments across small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), buildings, and road transport, and achieve the EU’s climate targets. The system will generate substantial revenues, which must be used to support households and businesses most vulnerable to the impacts of the energy transition. This presents a historic opportunity to drive deep, structural transformation across these sectors, enabling households and businesses to reap the long-term benefits of a decarbonised energy system.
However, recent discussions around postponing or revising key elements of ETS2 threaten to significantly weaken the instrument’s effectiveness and undermine the regulatory stability that businesses and households rely on for their long-term investment decisions. A one-year delay would cost Member States approximately €50 billion in lost auction revenues[1], while the proposed reform of the Market Stability Reserve (MSR2) would severely diminish incentives for the necessary modernisation of EU supply chains and expand the system’s carbon budget.
EU citizens[2] and businesses[3] view an ambitious and predictable energy transition as a path to prosperity, competitiveness, and stability. In an increasingly tense geopolitical landscape, reducing reliance on volatile, imported fossil fuels is both an economic and a strategic imperative. EU policymakers must therefore deliver regulatory and investment certainty by swiftly implementing agreed legislation. Together with complementary policies and the effective deployment of its revenues – including the Social Climate Fund and the EIB Frontloading Facility – ETS2 offers a cost-effective pathway to accelerate the rollout of clean, efficient heating and transport while ensuring social fairness.
We call on the Commission, the Parliament, and Member States to:
- Launch ETS2 in 2028 without further delay and without expanding the carbon budget.
Maintaining a robust and credible CO₂ price signal is critical to accelerating the deployment of renewable and energy-efficient technologies, thereby bolstering European competitiveness. Citizens and market actors need predictability to guide their spending and investment decisions. Backtracking on regulations forces technology providers to scale back investments, delays solutions, and discourages the necessary decarbonisation and supply chain modernisation. Against a volatile geopolitical backdrop, ETS2 will also accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels, contributing cost-effectively to the Union’s energy security, resilience, and strategic autonomy.
- Implement strong, complementary climate, social, and fiscal policies.
The best way to mitigate the risk of excessive prices is for Member States to implement robust complementary policies that curb demand for emission allowances, facilitate investments, and support lower-income groups. Particularly vital are measures that deliver an impact before 2030 and send a clear investment signal, such as support for building renovations, renewable energy communities, heat pump deployment, public transport, electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, energy storage, and other grid infrastructure elements. Ambitious climate policy fosters the growth of European lead markets in clean heating, energy-efficient buildings, and zero-emission transport – ultimately sharpening the competitive edge of Europe’s clean-tech sector.
- Ensure broad transparency and public participation in national ETS2 investments.
ETS2 is set to generate hundreds of billions of euros in revenue, which can help households access clean technologies, lower their cost of living, improve quality of life, and accelerate decarbonisation. ETS2 revenues must be transparently reinvested in building energy efficiency, zero-emission transport, renewable energy, power grids, and energy system flexibility – minimising transition costs while maintaining social equity. Stakeholders, including businesses and civil society organisations, must be involved in planning the governance of ETS2 revenues. This will ensure public buy-in and provide greater certainty for businesses on their decarbonisation journey.
We call on the European Commission, the European Parliament, and Member States to safeguard ETS2 and ensure its timely, ambitious implementation. Addressing these challenges is vital to securing the EU’s energy security, geopolitical independence, and competitiveness, while cutting emissions and protecting the most vulnerable.
- [1] Öko-Institut (2025), The EU’s 2040 climate target: Assessment of the proposal by the European Council.
- [2] European Commission (2025), Eurobarometer, Climate Change.
- [3] Corporate Leaders Group (2025), Strengthening Europe’s industrial edge: A business roadmap for resilience and competitiveness.