The U.K. Emissions Trading Scheme Authority has launched a second consultation on the review of the ETS markets policy. Feedback to the first consultation has been taken into account to prepare the proposals discussed in this second consultation. Responses to this second consultation may be submitted until March 11, 2024. The ETS Authority is also consulting on changes to the U.K. ETS free allocation framework.

The ETS Authority identifies the most significant risks to effective market functioning and proposes various policy options to address those risks as well as how individual market stability policies could address market risks while minimizing intervention and disruption in the market. The ETS Authority is proposing to: (i) introduce a quantity-triggered Supply Adjustment Mechanism to mitigate the risk of demand shift with long-term market impacts; (ii) retain a re-designed Auction Reserve Price, as well as possible additional mechanisms, to alleviate the risk of sudden, significant and sustained price decreases; and (iii) retain the Cost Containment Mechanism to mitigate against sudden, significant and sustained price increases, including whether to maintain the use of discretion to act upon the trigger or whether some automation could be introduced.

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