UK-based Mineral Products Association (MPA) has welcomed the proposed link-up between the UK and EU Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS) announced on 19 May 2025. "Linking the two schemes will give UK cement and lime producers access to a larger, more liquid carbon market, bringing the kind of stability needed to promote investment confidence," said the MPA in a statement.
However, the organisation has called for the government to address the high electricity costs that exacerbate the issues facing the cement and lime industries, undermining their international competitiveness and making it vulnerable to imports. In addition, it also highlighted the importance of a watertight UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), to bring carbon costs in line with imports from outside the EU and thereby preventing carbon leakage.
Dr Diana Casey, MPA’s executive director for energy and climate change, said: “We’ve been calling for linking UK and EU schemes for some time and the Government’s announcement is a step in the right direction.
“However, the governance of the ETS is crucial to get right and it’s unclear how much of a say the UK will have in shaping the evolution of the emissions trading scheme and its interaction with the CBAM. We also can’t ignore the fact that wider barriers to the competitiveness of UK cement and lime manufacture remain.
“While we welcome moves towards linking, it is important that this is followed up by bringing UK industrial electricity costs into line with competitor economies. It is also vital that the UK ensures its own CBAM is robust to ensure imports pay the same cost on carbon faced by domestic producers.”
