The European Union gives away more free carbon allowances than necessary in response to lobbying by industries seeking to shield themselves from stringent climate-protection policies, according to Vivid Economics.
More than half the U.K. industries receiving free EU carbon permits probably have no real need for the contracts, Robin Smale, director at the consultant in London, said today in a telephone interview. There’s little chance that emissions costs would cause factories to lose business to competitors outside the bloc, he said.
