56 investors representing €13.6tn urge EU to keep ETS predictable

Fifty-six investors representing more than €13.6 trillion in assets have called on EU leaders to keep the Emissions Trading System robust and predictable. The joint statement was published by the Principles for Responsible Investment ahead of the EU ETS review in July and the European Council meeting on 18-19 June.

Signatories include Allianz SE, L&G Asset Management, the Church of England Pensions Board, Erste Asset Management, Sampension and Nordea Asset Management, according to the PRI. The Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance also endorsed the statement.

The statement asks that the next phase preserve a clear long-term carbon price signal and give companies and investors certainty to deploy capital into electrification, industrial transformation and strategic clean technologies. It also calls for complementary policies addressing barriers facing energy-intensive industries, and for stronger, more effective use of ETS revenues to support industrial decarbonisation, energy system transformation and a just transition. The statement describes the ETS as one of Europe's most effective policy tools, crediting it with a track record of driving emissions reductions.

Walter Hatak, head of responsible investments at Erste Asset Management, said weakening the EU ETS would increase regulatory uncertainty, dilute the carbon-price signal and risk penalising companies already investing in electrification and low-carbon technologies. He added that supporting a robust system is aligned with fiduciary interests because it helps protect diversified portfolios from climate, energy-security and transition-policy risks. Laura Hillis, managing director for responsible investment at the Church of England Pensions Board, said climate volatility means economic volatility.