Recital 98

(98) By July 2026, the Commission should also assess and report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the feasibility of including municipal waste incineration installations in the EU ETS, including with a view to their inclusion from 2028, and provide an assessment of the potential need for an option for a Member State to opt out until the end of 2030, taking into account the importance of all sectors contributing to emission reductions. Inclusion of municipal waste incineration installations in the EU ETS would contribute to the circular economy by encouraging recycling, reuse and repair of products, while also contributing to economy-wide decarbonisation. The inclusion of municipal waste incineration installations would reinforce incentives for sustainable management of waste in line with the waste hierarchy and would create a level playing field between the regions that have included municipal waste incineration under the scope of the EU ETS. To avoid diversion of waste from municipal waste incineration installations towards landfills in the Union, which create methane emissions, and to avoid exports of waste to third countries, with a potentially negative impact on the environment, in its report the Commission should take into account the potential diversion of waste towards disposal by landfilling in the Union and waste exports to third countries. The Commission should also take into account the effects on the internal market, potential distortions of competition, environmental integrity, alignment with the objectives of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (31) and robustness and accuracy with respect to the monitoring and calculation of emissions. Considering the methane emissions from landfilling and to avoid creating an uneven playing field, the Commission should also assess the possibility of including other waste management processes, such as landfilling, fermentation, composting and mechanical-biological treatment, in the EU ETS, when assessing the feasibility of including municipal waste incineration installations.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-14 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.