UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA), which represents UK- based producers of cement and lime, has welcomed the UK government’s proposal to link the UK and EU Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS). The link was announced as part of a deal to streamline relations between the EU and UK. The MPA has been calling for a link between the UK and EU ETS since they were separated following the UK’s departure from the EU in 2020 and welcomed the announcement as part of the policy framework needed to support the sector. It said that linking the two schemes will give UK cement and lime producers access to a larger, more liquid carbon market, bringing the kind of stability that the sector needs to promote investment confidence.
However, the MPA has also repeated its calls for the government to tackle the high electricity costs that exacerbate the issues facing the industry, undermining its international competitiveness and making it vulnerable to imports. It has also reiterated the importance of delivering a watertight UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), levelling the carbon costs with imports from outside the EU and preventing decarbonisation by deindustrialisation.
