This page compiles recent trends from LobbyMap’s analysis of corporate engagement on the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). It finds that vocal European industry associations that jointly called for a weakening of the ETS – including Eurofer, IFIEC Europe, Euromines, Cefic, and Cement Europe – are not aligned with a growing cohort of their members who have expressed collective support for the policy – including TataSteel, SSAB, Heidelberg Materials, Holcim, and Unilever.
Ahead of the approaching July 2026 EU ETS review, more than 150 companies and industry associations are raising their collective voices on the future of Europe’s carbon trading mechanism. In recent weeks, corporate stakeholders across sectors have sent joint letters to the EU and its member states promoting the policy as the cornerstone of the EU’s decarbonization framework and, in certain cases, explicitly opposing suggestions from EU member states and select industry to water down its planned emissions reduction trajectory.
This surge of support comes after many companies rejected the February 2026 "Antwerp Call to Alden Biesen," an effort led by the chemicals industry group Cefic that advocated for reducing the carbon price under the EU ETS. The letter claimed to represent the more than 1300 signatories of the February 2024 Antwerp Declaration that were invited to the February 2026 Antwerp summit, but after many participating companies explicitly disputed their support for the call, the conference organizers withdrew the original letter and released a version signed only by 17 industry associations.
This intervention, which comes amid an array of efforts by governments and traditional industry groups to weaken the EU ETS, reveals an emerging dynamic of misalignment between these industry associations and many of their corporate members on this key European climate policy.
Below, InfluenceMap tracks all joint industry letters released in the two months leading up to the EU Council meeting on 19 March 2026 and identifies companies whose support for the ETS does not align with the negative positions taken by their industry associations.
The following table tracks joint corporate calls supporting the ETS from February and March 2026.
| Date | Signatories | Target | Sector | Position | Quotes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/02 | Tata Steel (+ Natuur & Milieu) | Letter to Dutch Prime Minister | Metals and Mining | Supporting: - a strong ETS. - the planned phase-out of free allowances. - the current cap on total GHG emissions. | Called for a "strong and predictable" ETS with a “reliable carbon price” to “make Europe’s industrial base more sustainable and keep it competitive.” |
| 23/02 | Confederation of Finnish Industries; Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise; Dansk Industri; Svenskt Näringsliv (Confederation of Swedish Entreprise) | Letter to EU Commission President and Climate Commissioner | Cross sector | Supporting: - a strong ETS. | Called for "a robust carbon price signal" and a “post-2030 climate policy architecture” built around the ETS. |
| 26/02 | Ecocem; Fédération professionnelle des entreprises de recyclage; de réemploi et de l’économie circulaire; France hydrogène; France renouvelables; GravitHy; InnoEnergy; Syndicat des énergies renouvelables (+ Réseau Action Climat) | Op-ed in Le Monde | Cross sector | Supporting: - a strong ETS. - the ambition of the planned trajectory of the ETS. - the planned phase-out of free allowances. | Called for “stability and credibility” of the ETS, and for a “consolidated carbon market.” |
| 05/03 | Carbon Capture and Storage Association; Dansk Erhverv; Energy Traders Europe; Eurelectric; European Energy Exchange; European Heat Pump Association; Hydrogen Europe; Intercontinental Exchange; International Emissions Trading Association; Nucleareurope Renewable Hydrogen Coalition; Rockwool; SolarPower Europe; Stegra; Union Française de l’Electricité; WindEurope (+ E3G) (+ Climate Group) | Joint statement | Cross sector | Supporting: - a strong ETS. - the ambition of the planned trajectory of the ETS. - using ETS revenues for decarbonization. | Called to “stay the course” on ETS, and stated that the policy has been "instrumental in driving Europe’s push for clean energy, while reducing dependency on fossil fuel imports." |
| 09/03 (updated 18/03) | Acciona; Danfoss; Ecocem; EDF; Heidelberg Materials; Holcim; IKEA; Ørsted; Rockwool; SAP; SSAB; Tata Steel; Volvo Cars + 121 companies and investors (+ Business for CBAM Coalition) (+ Corporate Leaders Groups) (+ Cleantech for Europe) (+ We Mean Business Coalition) | Letter to heads of EU states and governments, Council President, and Commission President | Cross sector | Supporting: - a strong ETS. - using ETS revenues for decarbonization. | Called for a "robust" ETS, and stated that it is the "cornerstone of the EU’s decarbonization framework,” whose weakening would "damage Europe’s industrial future." |
| 13/03 | EDF; EDP; Engie; Fortum; Iberdrola; Ørsted; Statkraft; Vattenfall | Letter to EU Commission President and Council President | Utilities | Supporting: - a strong ETS. - using ETS revenues for decarbonization. | Called for a "robust" EU ETS and stated that weakening this "cornerstone" of the energy transition "would jeopardise both Europe’s long-term economic resilience and decarbonisation.” |
| 13/03 | Cylib; Dillinger; EWE; Heidelberg Materials; Holcim; Outokumpu; Ørsted; Saarstahl; Salzgitter; SAP; Sunfire; Vattenfall | Letter to the German Chancellor | Cross sector | Supporting: - a strong ETS. - using ETS revenues for decarbonization. | Called for a “reliable” EU ETS, which is “not only a climate policy tool but also a key driver of investment and innovation for European industry.” |
| 16/03 | Acciona; Amazon; Aveva; Ball; Coca-Cola Europacific Partners; EDF; Google; H&M; Henkel; Iberdrola; IKEA; Microsoft; Nexi; Rockwool; Signify; Salesforce; Solar Power Accelerator; SSAB; Unilever; Vattenfall; Velux; Volvo Cars (+ Corporate Leaders Group) | Joint statement | Cross sector | Supporting: - a strong ETS. - the planned phase-out of free allowances. - using ETS revenues for decarbonization. | Called for a “robust carbon price” and for “maintaining the credibility and stability” of the system in the upcoming review, as “many businesses have already invested on the basis of today’s framework.” |
The following table maps joint calls by European industry associations to weaken the ETS from February and March 2026.
| Date | Signatories | Target | Sector | Position | Quotes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02/02 | Cefic; Cement Europe; Cepi; Cerame-Unie; EuLA; EUROALLIAGES; Euromines; European Metals; EXCA; Fertilizers Europe; Glass Alliance Europe; IFIEC Europe | Joint statement | Cross sector | Not supporting: - the current EU carbon price. - the planned reduction of free allowances. | Called to “stop any increase in carbon costs” and stated that EU carbon price undermines “competitiveness and investments.” |
| 11/02 | ACEA; Cefic; Cement Europe; Cepi; Cerame-Unie; EFPIA; EIGA; EuLA; EUROALLIAGES; Eurofer; EURATEX; European Metals; Euromines; Fertilizers Europe; FuelsEurope; Glass Alliance Europe | Letter to members of the EU Council | Cross sector | Not supporting: - the current EU carbon price. | Called to bring European “carbon costs down” and suggested that the ETS harms investment and competitiveness in the EU. |
The following table maps companies that joined calls supporting the ETS and are members of industry associations that advocated to weaken the policy.
| Industry associations that joined statements with negative position on the ETS | Members that joined explicit calls in favor of the ETS |
|---|---|
| European Steel Association (Eurofer) | ArcelorMittal* Dillinger Outokumpu Saarstahl Salzgitter SSAB TataSteel |
| International Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers (IFIEC) Europe | ArcelorMittal* Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise NHO (through Norsk Industri) Fortum Google (through Febeliec and through ELFI) Heidelberg Materials (through VIK and UNIDEN) Holcim (through UNIDEN) Microsoft (through ELFI) Norsk Hydro* (through Norsk Industri) Outokumpo (through ELFI) Salzgitter (through VIK) SSAB (through ELFI) Vattenfall Yara* (through UNIDEN) |
| European Association of Mining Industries, Metal Ores & Industrial Minerals (Euromines) | Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise NHO (through Norsk Industri) Dillinger (through A3M) Heidelberg Materials (through Svemin & the Greek Association of Mining Companies) Holcim (through the Greek Association of Mining Companies) LKAB Norsk Hydro* (through Norsk Industri) Outokumpu (through Kaivosteollisuus) Saarstahl (through A3M) Yara* (through Kaivosteollisuus) |
| European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) | Unilever Yara* |
| European Cement Association (Cement Europe) | Heidelberg Materials Holcim (through France Ciment) |
| European Non-ferrous Metals Association (European Metals) | Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise NHO (through Norsk Industri) Norsk Hydro* |
| Confederation of European Paper Industries (Cepi) | Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise NHO (through Norsk Industri) Norsk Hydro* (through Norsk Industri) |
| Fertilizers Europe | Yara* |
| Association of European Ferro-Alloy Producers (EuroAlliage) | Outokumpu |
*These companies did not sign any of the joint letters; however, they clearly distanced themselves from the call to reduce EU carbon prices, after being initially included in the signatories of the February 2026 “Antwerp Call to Alden Biesen.”
