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Price and network dynamics in the European carbon market

Author

Listed:
  • Andreas Karpf

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Antoine Mandel

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Stefano Battiston

    (CAMS - Centre d'Analyse et de Mathématique sociales - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the European Emission Trading System as a transaction network. It is shown that, given the lack of well-identified trading institutions, industrial actors had to resort to local connections and financial intermediaries to participate in the market. This gave rise to a hierarchical structure in the transaction network. It is then shown that the asymmetries in the network induced market inefficiencies (e.g., increased bid-ask spread) and informational asymmetries, that have been exploited by central agents at the expense of less central ones. Albeit the efficiency of the market has improved from the beginning of Phase II, the asymmetry persists, imposing unnecessary additional costs on agents and reducing the effectiveness of the market as a mitigation instrument.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Karpf & Antoine Mandel & Stefano Battiston, 2018. "Price and network dynamics in the European carbon market," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01905985, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-01905985
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2018.06.019
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01905985v1
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    Cited by:

    1. João Andrade de Carvalho & André de Castro & Gutemberg Hespanha Brasil & Paulo Antonio de Souza & Andrés Z. Mendiburu, 2022. "CO 2 Emission Factors and Carbon Losses for Off-Road Mining Trucks," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-17, April.
    2. Doda, Baran & Quemin, Simon & Taschini, Luca, 2019. "Linking permit markets multilaterally," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Yifei Hua & Feng Dong, 2019. "China’s Carbon Market Development and Carbon Market Connection: A Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-25, May.
    4. Ping Wei & Jingzi Zhou & Xiaohang Ren & Luu Duc Toan Huynh, 2025. "Financialisation of the European Union Emissions Trading System and its influencing factors in quantiles," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 925-940, January.
    5. Zhong, Meirui & Zhang, Rui & Ren, Xiaohang, 2023. "The time-varying effects of liquidity and market efficiency of the European Union carbon market: Evidence from the TVP-SVAR-SV approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    6. Baudry, Marc & Faure, Anouk & Quemin, Simon, 2021. "Emissions trading with transaction costs," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    7. Jiqiang Wang & Yinpeng Liu & Ying Fan & Jianfeng Guo, 2020. "The Impact of Industry on European Union Emissions Trading Market—From Network Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, October.
    8. Rahel Mandaroux & Chuanwen Dong & Guodong Li, 2021. "A European Emissions Trading System Powered by Distributed Ledger Technology: An Evaluation Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, February.
    9. Yi, Qing & Jiang, Yuanying, 2025. "Time-frequency spillovers between carbon, fossil fuels, and clean energy markets: New insights from the TVP-VAR framework," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    10. Quemin, Simon & Trotignon, Raphaël, 2021. "Emissions trading with rolling horizons," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    11. Cláudia R. R. Eirado & Douglas Silveira & Daniel O. Cajueiro, 2025. "Digital Twins and Network Resilience in the EU ETS: Analysing Structural Shifts in Carbon Trading," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-31, July.
    12. Böning, Justus & Di Nino, Virginia & Folger, Till, 2023. "Benefits and costs of the ETS in the EU, a lesson learned for the CBAM design," Working Paper Series 2764, European Central Bank.
    13. Esmalifalak, Hamidreza, 2022. "Euclidean (dis)similarity in financial network analysis," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    14. Flori, Andrea & Scotti, Francesco, 2025. "When the intensity of trading meets compliance requirements: An assessment for firms operating within the EU ETS," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    15. Chen, Fanglin & Chen, Zhongfei & Zhang, Xin, 2024. "Belated stock returns for green innovation under carbon emissions trading market," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    16. Jan Abrell & Johanna Cludius & Sascha Lehmann & Joachim Schleich & Regina Betz, 2022. "Corporate Emissions-Trading Behaviour During the First Decade of the EU ETS," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 83(1), pages 47-83, September.
    17. Estelle Cantillon & Aurélie Slechten, 2024. "Market Design for the Environment," NBER Chapters, in: New Directions in Market Design, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Andrea Flori & Alessandro Spelta, 2025. "Carbon trade biases and the emerging mesoscale structure of the European Emissions Trading System network," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-17, December.
    19. Flori, Andrea & Borghesi, Simone & Marin, Giovanni, 2024. "The environmental-financial performance nexus of EU ETS firms: A quantile regression approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    20. Cristiano Salvagnin & Vittorio del Tatto & Maria Elena De Giuli & Antonietta Mira & Aldo Glielmo, 2025. "Non-parametric Causal Discovery for EU Allowances Returns Through the Information Imbalance," Papers 2508.15667, arXiv.org.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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