LIFE COASE – Collaborative Observatory for ASsessment of the EU ETS

The main objective of LIFE COASE is to support EU and Member State policymakers in the implementation and development of the EU ETS, including its integration with other emissions trading systems. It also aims at creating lasting cooperation between policymakers, academia and stakeholders in the field of emissions trading and raise public awareness of carbon markets.

In particular, LIFE COASE will:

• Increase the usability of data from the EU Transaction Log (EUTL) in order to enable further research on emissions trading,
• Create a source of reference for regulators to assess the functioning of the EU ETS,
• Promote the integration of the EU ETS with other emissions trading systems by supporting the Net Zero Carbon Market Policy Dialogue,
• Offer a platform for exchange for stakeholders in policy, academia, industry and civil society, and Increase knowledge and political support for carbon markets.

LIFE COASE will make data from the registry of the EU ETS a more useful and usable resource for analysis. The aim is to facilitate both greater quality and greater quantity of empirical studies assessing the EU ETS. To this end, LIFE COASE will provide new matchings between the EU Transaction Log (EUTL) and external databases, new installation-level data, and data applications.

LIFE COASE will publish information and datasets on the following aspects:

• EUTL-ORBIS installation-to-firm matchings,
• EUTL installation entries and exits,
• EUTL allowance transactions and accounting system,
• Matching of power plants under the EUTL and the ENTSOE database,
• Matching of industrial installations under the EUTL and the EPRTR database.

The project will provide new information on climate-related investments and behaviour of European firms, both within and outside the EU ETS. Each project year foresees an extension of the European Investment Bank’s Investment Survey (EIBIS) and an analysis of the results. The EIBIS is an annual EU-wide survey that gathers qualitative and quantitative information on investment activities by small, medium and large businesses.

To the extent possible, the project plans to extend the questionnaire to generate information specifically relevant to the EU ETS. This information will contribute to a better understanding of climate-related investments of firms regulated by the EU ETS and allow for a better assessment of the effectiveness of the EU ETS in spurring technological change.

LIFE COASE will produce sets of indicators to monitor the EU ETS with respect to its environmental and economic impacts as well as to structural changes within its carbon market. Building upon the discussion in dedicated workshops, LIFE COASE will produce:

• EU ETS impact indicators providing timely information on the impacts of the EU ETS on the environmental and economic outcomes of regulated firms, including on investment leakage.
• EU ETS carbon market indicators serving to detect structural changes within the EU ETS. These indicators will reflect a) the entry and exit dynamics of regulated firms; b) the composition of market participants; and c) the flows of emission allowances.

More sophisticated model-based assessment of the EU ETS is needed to assess the effectiveness of emissions trading systems and to predict the impact of different policy and regulatory options. LIFE COASE will compare both ex-post and ex-ante model-based assessments of the EU ETS and other major emissions trading systems.

The project will organise a series of annual conferences devoted to the presentation of new econometric studies on ex-post assessments, as well as a series of workshops on the comparison of selected macro-economic models for the ex-ante assessment. In doing so, the project also aims at building a strong international network of experts in the field.

Downloads:

• Deliverable 5.1_Summaries of Workshop and Conference 2023

LIFE COASE will support international cooperation on carbon markets between the EU and partner countries, building on the recent agreement reached at COP26 in Glasgow on the Article 6 framework. The project will organise the Net Zero and Carbon Market Policy Dialogue between the European Commission, as the regulator of the EU ETS, and the regulators of other major emission trading systems (e.g., California, China, New Zealand, Quebec, Switzerland, UK, Mexico, and Korea). The Net Zero and Carbon Market Policy Dialogue is a continuation of the Carbon Market Policy Dialogue which was first established under the LIFE DICET project.

During the project period of LIFE COASE, three policy dialogues will be organised and supported with scientific results from the project. Some of the key issues to discuss could include:

• Future allowance prices,
• Negative emissions (carbon removals),
• ETS expansion,
• Competitiveness effects and carbon leakage,
• Distributional effects and social acceptability,
• Implementation of international carbon markets in line with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and
• Linkage of an ETS with other carbon markets.

LIFE COASE aims to become a reference source of knowledge for EU and Member States policymakers, academics and representatives from the civil society and industry, researchers and international organisations and foreign countries, providing data, indicators and tools. To that end, the project will give public access to a variety of outputs, such as publications, datasets, blog posts, podcasts, policy briefs, and events. The objective of these activities is to increase the understanding and political support for the EU ETS and carbon markets, to build a strong international network of experts on emissions trading, to engage with industries to improve the understanding of how the EU ETS impacts different sectors, and to establish networks with other relevant LIFE projects.

European University Institute

• Simone Borghesi, Director
• Ian Devine, Project Manager
• Albert Ferrari, Research Associate and Projects Coordinator
• Matteo Mazzarano. Research Associate
• Marie Raude, Research Assistant
• Lea Heinrich, Project Assistant

External Collaborators

• Jan Abrell, University Basel
• Baran Doda, Adelphi
• Theresa Wildgrube, Adelphi
• Paul Ekins, University College London

• Simone Borghesi (Chair), European University Institute
• Jos Delbeke (Co-chair), European University Institute

• Daniele Agostini, ENEL
• Christoph Böhringer, University of Oldenburg
• Dallas Burtraw, Resources for the Future
• Stefano De Clara, International Carbon Action Partnership
• Jill Duggan, Environmental Defense Fund
• Paul Ekins, UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources
• Dirk Forrister, International Emissions Trading Association
• Jürg Füssler, INFRAS
• Adina Georgescu, Eurometaux
• Ted Jamieson, Ministry for the Environment/Manatū mō te Taiao
• Robert Jeszke, KOBIZE
• Xavier Labandeira, University of Vigo
• Hannah Lewis, UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
• Simone Lucatello, Instituto Mora
• Duan Maosheng, Tsinghua University
• Axel Michaelowa, University of Zurich
• Michael Pahle, PIK Potsdam
• Mette Quinn, DG Climate Action, European Commission
• Venkata Ramana Putti, World Bank
• Ingo Ramming, BBVA
• Debora Revoltella, European Investment Bank
• Kim Ricard, Quebec Ministry for Sustainable Development
• Agnese Ruggiero, Carbon Market Watch
• Malgosia Rybak, Confederation of European Paper Industries
• Rajinder Sahota, California Air Resources Board
• Misato Sato, London School of Economics
• Luca Taschini, University of Edinburgh
• Toon Vandyck, KU Leuven
• Philipp Voss, German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
• Ulrich Wagner, University of Mannheim
• John Ward, Pengwern Associates
• Matthias Weitzel, Joint Research Centre
• Xiliang Zhang, Tsinghua University