TO BE PUBLISHED September 2026
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This conference will examine next steps for the UK Emissions Trading Scheme as it expands and preparations are made for the second allocation period from 2027.
The planned agenda will look at priorities for policy, regulation and participating sectors in maintaining market confidence and putting in place practical compliance arrangements - as new sectors enter the scheme and longer-term decisions are taken on carbon leakage protection and the future cap trajectory.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to assess implications of recent decisions by the UK ETS Authority as well as assessing forthcoming choices that will frame scheme operation through 2027 and beyond. Areas for discussion include the Authority’s response to the Future Markets Policy Consultation and the associated increase of the Auction Reserve Price, alongside the timetable for final decisions on free allocation settings for 2028-2030.
Delegates will consider what implementation should look like as the UK ETS expands to domestic maritime from July 2026 and later to energy-from-waste. Monitoring, reporting and verification approaches will be discussed, together with questions around administrative readiness and resourcing needed across regulators and regulated entities, and the practical effect of the double-surrender approach for the first maritime scheme year.
Practical implications of exemptions and deduction mechanisms for specific routes will be considered, including how compliance cycles and cost pass-through may affect organisations with limited direct control over emissions, including local authorities and service commissioners.
Further discussion is expected on the UK’s wider carbon pricing architecture as the Government prepares to introduce the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and the UK and EU work towards linking the UK ETS and EU ETS. Delegates will assess priorities for managing competitiveness and carbon leakage risks alongside investment signals for decarbonisation, including how any linkage could affect price dynamics and market stability, and how longer-term decisions on Phase II and the integration of Greenhouse Gas Removals might be taken forward.
Overview of areas for discussion
- UK-EU ETS linkage: managing price or policy shocks - market liquidity and hedging - approaches to handling current and future divergence in cap-setting, scope and market stability mechanisms
- market operation: ARP increase and subsequent annual indexation - effects on auction bidding behaviour and price floors - interaction with existing stability tools and further market safeguards
- free allocation 2028-2030: clarity on methodology and sectoral benchmarks - carbon leakage exposure and investment planning - allocation tables, data requirements and timing for participants
- maritime: MRV and surrender requirements - exemptions and deductions - priorities for the 2028 review of the 5,000 GT threshold and treatment of offshore vessels from January 2027
- energy-from-waste: budget exposure for local authorities and contractual pass-through - interaction with recycling and packaging reforms - avoiding unintended landfill or export incentives
- GGR: options for phased integration and safeguards - design and issuance of removal allowances and assessing a gross cap - environmental integrity, market confidence and delivery assurance
- UK CBAM: practical readiness for affected importers - alignment with free allocation reform and compliance timelines - implications for supply chains, reporting and competitiveness
- Phase II to 2040: priorities for cap trajectory and banking arrangements - options for further sectoral expansion - alignment with carbon budgets and wider net zero delivery pathways
