Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/787

Contents

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,Having regard to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Union and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC^note, and in particular Article 10(4) thereof,Whereas:

(1)Chapter IVa of Directive 2003/87/EC provides for a separate emissions trading system for fuels used for combustion in buildings, road transport and additional sectors. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2830^note lays down specific rules for the auctioning of emission allowances covered by Chapter IVa of Directive 2003/87/EC. To ensure a smooth start of the separate emissions trading system, several provisions on the timing and administration of the auctions for these allowances should be amended and clarified.

(2)The start of auctions for allowances covered by Chapter IVa of Directive 2003/87/EC may result in more than one auction for allowances being held on a given day. While it is important to ensure that auctions organised by the common auction platform and auctions organised by opt-out platforms are not held on the same day, it should be possible to have auctions for allowances covered by Chapters II and III of Directive 2003/87/EC on one hand, and allowances covered by Chapter IVa of that Directive on the other hand, to take place on the same day.

(3)The good functioning of the market for allowances covered by Chapter IVa of Directive 2003/87/EC will depend on ensuring adequate liquidity early on so that a clear and predictable price signal for market participants is provided from the start. Therefore, auctioning for allowances covered by Chapter IVa of Directive 2003/87/EC should start as from 2027. The method of establishing and adjusting the quantity of allowances to be auctioned for the Social Climate Fund should be updated in view of the start of early auctioning and experience of implementing the provisions of the second subparagraph of Article 10(6) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2830.

(4)The participation of bidders in auctions for allowances covered by Chapter IVa of Directive 2003/87/EC is linked to the level of demand from regulated entities to surrender allowances in order to meet their compliance obligations. Where a Member State does not yet have national laws in place on the surrendering of allowances by regulated entities under Article 30e(2) of Directive 2003/87/EC and on penalties for excess emissions under Article 16(1) to (4) of that Directive for emissions reported under Chapter IVa of Directive 2003/87/EC, this can lead to auction cancellations or an unrepresentative auction clearing price due to oversupply of allowances and lack of bidder participation. To ensure the good administration of auctions in such situations, the number of allowances to be auctioned on behalf of Member States and the timing to turn into the Member States’ national law the obligation to surrender allowances for emissions reported under Chapter IVa of Directive 2003/87/EC should be aligned. The extent to which the surrendering requirements have been applied should also be considered.

(5)To simplify procedural requirements for persons bidding on behalf of others and to ensure consistency with the amended rules on exemptions in Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council^note for persons providing, as ancillary activity, investment services to clients or suppliers of their main business, it is appropriate to remove the requirement to obtain an authorisation from competent national authorities for persons to be able to bid on behalf of others under the EU ETS framework.

(6)Each Member State should appoint at least one auctioneer, who should be responsible for the auctioning of allowances on behalf of the appointing Member State. It should be possible for the same auctioneer to be appointed by more than one Member State. The auctioneer(s) should be responsible for auctioning the allowances on the auction platform and for receiving and disbursing the auction proceeds.

(7)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2830 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8)Article 13 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2830 provides that the common auction platform shall publish the 2027 auction calendar for allowances covered by Chapter IVa of Directive 2003/87/EC by 31 July 2026 or as soon as practicable thereafter, after having consulted the Commission.

(9)Therefore, this Regulation should enter into force urgently,

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