KfW/ZEW CO2 Barometer 2010

The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) remains by far the largest trading programme for greenhouse gas emissions, and as such has a key influence on the global market in emission certificates. In Germany, some 1,656 plants emitting 428 million tCO2 were registered under the EU ETS in 2009. This meant that almost 50% of Germany's greenhouse gas emissions were covered. Since 2009 the KfW/ZEW CO2 has annually surveyed the companies regulated by emissions trading in Germany on the effectiveness and efficiency of the system. Now, in 2010, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) has reached the midpoint of the second trading period (2008–2012) - a good point in time at which to both conduct a first evaluation of the trading period, and look ahead to the changes due from 2013 onward. The emissions trading year 2009 was shaped by the economic crisis. A decline in production caused by a downward economic trend was the main reason for the significant reduction in emissions in 2009, which overshadowed the incentive effect of emissions trading. This year's KfW/ZEW CO2 Barometer 2010 focuses on corporate carbon management, i. e. the information base used and the organisation of emissions trading within the surveyed companies, and preparation for the auction of emission rights during the third trading period.

Löschel, Andreas, Kerstin Kiehl, Peter Heindl, Vivien Lo, Henrike Koschel and Simon Koesler (2010), KfW/ZEW CO2 Barometer 2010, Effizienzpotenziale des Emissionshandels noch nicht ausgeschöpft – Strategien und Management deutscher Unternehmen, KfW Bankengruppe, Frankfurt am Main