Erosion of confidence with EU carbon prices

EuropeanCarbonCredit Chart280224

In February, EU carbon credits reached a level of less than 60 € / EU ETS allowance, due to a downturn from the auctions (Chart 28.02.24: Intercontinental Exchange). Important carbon credit buyers, such as Shell, Nestlé and EasyJet recently retreated from carbon offset schemes. This withdrawal is partly a reaction of growing scepticism about the effectiveness of these projects, with concerns about actual climate benefits and accusations of greenwashing. Anyhow, for the cement industry nothing has changed, due to the existing free carbon allowances and the shift of the major cement producers to invest into CCS projects beside the ongoing trend to further cut emissions with conventional measures.