Too Much Harmonization? An Analysis of the Commission’s Proposal to Amend the EU ETS from the Perspective of Legal Principles

Abstract

This study's objective was to determine whether an analysis based on three European Community (EC) legal principles may support and/or require a higher emissions trading scheme (ETS) harmonization level. The roles that these principles play in legislator and court activity must now be distinguished between. There seems to be a negative answer in relation to court activity. Limited guidance is offered by the examined legal principles, and harmonization is mainly a political exercise. The answer may be somewhat different when considering the role legal principles play in guiding the legislator toward higher harmonization levels. The key problems arising in relation to the directive are addressed by the proposal, which significantly improves its ability to promote equity, cost effectiveness, and environmental effectiveness. The proposed harmonization level, however, does not seen totally justified in light of those objectives and in taking key EC legal principles into account.