CAKE on Climate Week in Florence
At the European University Institute Climate Week organised by the School of Transnational Governance in Florence on 6-8 May 2025, Robert Jeszke, Head of The National Centre for Emissions Management (KOBiZE), was a speaker at the session „Twenty years of EUETS: looking back, looking Ahead” on the best experiences and lessons learned on the EU ETS.
It was a great opportunity to exchange views and deepen understanding of the evolving EU ETS. Also in attendance were Peter Vis, Michael Pahle, Ingvild Sørhus, Beatriz Yordi and Antoine Dechezleprêtre.
In his intervention, Robert stressed that the EU ETS has proven to be an effective and credible tool for reducing emissions and remains a cornerstone of EU climatepolicy. However, the system is evolving over time – and as we approach the so-called “end game”, when EUA allowances are expected to run out around 2040, the nature of the system will inevitably change.
To remain a strong pillar of EU climate policy, the EU ETS needs to adapt and become more flexible. This includes the integration of carbon removals – both technological (such as DACCS & BECCS) and natural (AFOLU) – which are essential to achieve climate neutrality. Expanding cooperation with other carbon pricing systems – including alignment with neighbouring countries through mechanisms such as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement – and allowing the use of high-quality international offsets can help increase market liquidity, reduce compliance costs and raise global ambition.
Robert highlighted that this is exactly what we are working on at CAKE as part of the LIFE ENSPIRE project – we are exploring the potential benefits, challenges, and emission reduction impacts of integrating selected EU neighbouring countries (such as Balkans, Moldova, Ukraine and Turkey) into the EU ETS, and assessing how their inclusion could affect the overall effectiveness of the system.
Finally, he pointed out the growing need for structured governance. A dedicated institution such as a European Central Carbon Bank (ECCB) could play a key role in managing removals, offsets and market stability in a more complex future EU ETS.