The project accompanies the further development of international and European emissions trading (ETS). At international level the focus is on the implementation and development of ETS, their role in international climate policy, and possibilities of linking between ETS, but also of ETS with other economic instruments (e.g. taxes, offset mechanisms). At the European level the main contents are the reform of the EU ETS, the ETS inclusion of the aviation sector, the interdependencies with other climate and energy policy instruments and the market oversight. The Ecologic Institute provides the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) with economic and legal analyses concerning the development and implementation of new concepts and legislation.

Emissions trading covers about 50% of all German greenhouse gas emissions and is one of the main climate protection instruments in Germany and the EU. The objective of the ETS is to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions efficiently. The EU established the ETS in the first trading period 2005 to 2007 and adopted major amendments for the third trading period beginning in 2013. In this context the project accompanies the further development of the European emissions trading scheme by developing proposals for further reforms of the EU ETS. Beyond that, the project offers support for the linking negotiations particularly with Australia, questions regarding the inclusion of the aviation sector, analysis and future development of market oversight structures as well as the interdependencies with other climate protection policies.