Votes · 15 September 2026
Market stability reserve for the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS): ceasing the invalidation of allowances
This vote is about the EU carbon market (ETS): stopping the automatic cancellation of emission allowances.
Background
The EU carbon market (ETS) requires industry and power plants to buy “allowances” for every tonne of CO₂ they emit. A stability reserve sets surplus allowances aside and, above a threshold, cancels them for good, which pushes up the carbon price. The Commission proposed to stop these cancellations; some MEPs saw this as weakening climate policy.
- Parliament keeps the mechanism that cancels allowances, unlike the Commission’s proposal.
- It raises the threshold above which allowances are cancelled from 400 to 650 million, from February 2027.
- This is Parliament’s position: it still has to be negotiated with governments.
Adopted: 367 for, 240 against, 59 abstentions, 51 did not vote.
Reference: A10-0230/2026