Carbon Emissions: UK Relations with EU

(asked on 12th January 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Government's position that aligning the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme will prevent an £800 million impact from the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, refers to savings in a single year or to a cumulative impact over multiple years.


Answered by
Chris McDonald Portrait
Chris McDonald
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This question was answered on 15th January 2026

Linking the UK ETS and EU ETS is expected to bring significant economic benefits to the UK.

These include providing businesses with access to a larger, stable carbon market; the removal of regulatory barriers in sectors like CO2 storage; supporting UK renewable rollout; and lowering electricity costs in the long run.

Additionally, linking is expected to create the conditions for mutual CBAM exemptions, removing a major barrier to trade and lowering costs for UK firms. The £800m estimate is from a Frontier Economics report and refers to cumulative savings between 2026 and 2030.

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