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1. From 2019 onwards, Member States shall auction all allowances that are not allocated free of charge in accordance with Articles 10a and 10c of this Directive and that are not placed in the market stability reserve established by Decision (EU) 2015/1814 of the European Parliament and of the Council () (the ‘market stability reserve’) or cancelled in accordance with Article 12(4) of this Directive. From 2021 onwards, and without prejudice to a possible reduction pursuant to Article 10a(5a), the share of allowances to be auctioned shall be 57 %. 2 % of the total quantity of allowances between 2021 and 2030 shall be auctioned to establish a fund to improve energy efficiency and modernise the energy systems of certain Member States (the ‘beneficiary Member States’) as set out in Article 10d (the ‘Modernisation Fund’). The beneficiary Member States for that amount of allowances shall be the Member States with a GDP per capita at market prices below 60 % of the Union average in 2013. The funds corresponding to that amount of allowances shall be distributed in accordance with Part A of Annex IIb.

In addition, 2,5 % of the total quantity of allowances between 2024 and 2030 shall be auctioned for the Modernisation Fund. The beneficiary Member States for that amount of allowances shall be the Member States with a GDP per capita at market prices below 75 % of the Union average during the period from 2016 to 2018. The funds corresponding to that amount of allowances shall be distributed in accordance with Part B of Annex IIb. The total remaining quantity of allowances to be auctioned by Member States shall be distributed in accordance with paragraph 2.

1a. Where the volume of allowances to be auctioned by Member States in the last year of each period referred to in Article 13 ◄ of this Directive exceeds by more than 30 % the expected average auction volume for the first two years of the following period before application of Article 1(5) of Decision (EU) 2015/1814, two thirds of the difference between the volumes shall be deducted from the auction volumes in the last year of the period and added in equal instalments to the volumes to be auctioned by Member States in the first two years of the following period.

2. The total quantity of allowances to be auctioned by each Member State shall be composed as follows:

(a) 90 % ◄ of the total quantity of allowances to be auctioned being distributed amongst Member States in shares that are identical to the share of verified emissions under the EU ETS ◄ for 2005 or the average of the period from 2005 to 2007, whichever one is the highest, of the Member State concerned;

(b) 10 % of the total quantity of allowances to be auctioned being distributed amongst certain Member States for the purposes of solidarity, growth and interconnections within the Union, thereby increasing the amount of allowances that those Member States auction under point (a) by the percentages specified in Annex IIa.

————— For the purposes of point (a), in respect of Member States which did not participate in the EU ETS ◄ in 2005, their share shall be calculated using their verified emissions under the EU ETS ◄ in 2007. If necessary, the percentages referred to in point (b) shall be adapted in a proportional manner to ensure that the distribution is 10 %.

3. Member States shall determine the use of revenues generated from the auctioning of allowances referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, except for the revenues established as own resources in accordance with Article 311, third paragraph, TFEU and entered in the Union budget. Member States shall use those revenues, with the exception of the revenues used for the compensation of indirect carbon costs referred to in Article 10a(6) of this Directive, or the equivalent in financial value of those revenues, for one or more of the following:

(a) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including by contributing to the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund and to the Adaptation Fund as made operational by the Poznan Conference on Climate Change (COP 14 and COP/MOP 4), to adapt to the impacts of climate change and to fund research and development as well as demonstration projects for reducing emissions and for adaptation to climate change, including participation in initiatives within the framework of the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan and the European Technology Platforms;

(b) to develop renewable energies and grids for electricity transmission to meet the commitment of the Union to renewable energies and the Union targets on interconnectivity, as well as to develop other technologies that contribute to the transition to a safe and sustainable low-carbon economy, and to help to meet the commitment of the Union to increase energy efficiency, at the levels agreed in relevant legislative acts, including the production of electricity from renewables self-consumers and renewable energy communities;

(c) measures to avoid deforestation and support the protection and restoration of peatland, forests and other land-based ecosystems or marine-based ecosystems, including measures that contribute to the protection, restoration and better management thereof, in particular as regards marine-protected areas, and increase biodiversity-friendly afforestation and reforestation, including in developing countries that have ratified the Paris Agreement, and measures to transfer technologies and to facilitate adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change in those countries;

(d) forestry and soil sequestration in the Union;

(e) the environmentally safe capture and geological storage of CO2, in particular from solid fossil fuel power stations and a range of industrial sectors and subsectors, including in third countries, and innovative technological carbon removal methods, such as direct air capture and storage;

(f) to invest in and accelerate the shift to forms of transport which contribute significantly to the decarbonisation of the sector, including the development of climate-friendly passenger and freight rail transport and bus services and technologies, measures to decarbonise the maritime sector, including the improvement of the energy efficiency of ships, ports, innovative technologies and infrastructure, and sustainable alternative fuels, such as hydrogen and ammonia that are produced from renewables, and zero-emission propulsion technologies, and to finance measures to support the decarbonisation of airports in accordance with a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, and repealing Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on ensuring a level playing field for sustainable air transport;

(g) to finance research and development in energy efficiency and clean technologies in the sectors covered by this Directive;

(h) measures intended to improve energy efficiency, district heating systems and insulation, to support efficient and renewable heating and cooling systems, or to support the deep and staged deep renovation of buildings in accordance with Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (), starting with the renovation of the worst-performing buildings;

(ha) to provide financial support to address social aspects in lower- and middle-income households, including by reducing distortive taxes, and targeted reductions of duties and charges for renewable electricity;

(hb) to finance national climate dividend schemes with a proven positive environmental impact as documented in the annual report referred to in Article 19(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council ();

(i) to cover administrative expenses of the management of the EU ETS ◄ ;

(j) to finance climate actions in vulnerable third countries, including the adaptation to the impacts of climate change;

(k) to promote skill formation and reallocation of labour in order to contribute to a just transition to a climate-neutral economy, in particular in regions most affected by the transition of jobs, in close coordination with the social partners, and to invest in upskilling and reskilling of workers potentially affected by the transition, including workers in maritime transport;

(l) to address any residual risk of carbon leakage in the sectors covered by Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2023/956 of the European Parliament and of the Council (), supporting the transition and promoting their decarbonisation in accordance with State aid rules. When determining the use of revenues generated from the auctioning of the allowances, Member States shall take into account the need to continue scaling up international climate finance in vulnerable third countries referred to in the first subparagraph, point (j). Member States shall be deemed to have fulfilled the provisions of this paragraph if they have in place and implement fiscal or financial support policies, including in particular in developing countries, or domestic regulatory policies, which leverage financial support, established for the purposes set out in the first subparagraph and which have a value equivalent to the revenues referred to in the first subparagraph. Member States shall inform the Commission as to the use of revenues and the actions taken pursuant to this paragraph in their reports submitted under Article 19(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, specifying, where relevant and as appropriate, which revenues are used and the actions that are taken to implement their integrated national energy and climate plans submitted in accordance with that Regulation, and their territorial just transition plans prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council (). The reporting shall be sufficiently detailed to enable the Commission to assess the Member States’ compliance with the first subparagraph.

4. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 23 of this Directive to supplement this Directive concerning the timing, administration and other aspects of auctioning, including modalities for auctioning which are necessary for the transfer of a share of revenues to the Union budget as external assigned revenue in accordance with Article 30d(4) of this Directive or as own resources in accordance with Article 311, third paragraph, TFEU, in order to ensure that it is conducted in an open, transparent, harmonised and non-discriminatory manner. To that end, the process shall be predictable, in particular as regards the timing and sequencing of auctions and the estimated amount of allowances to be made available. ◄ Those delegated acts shall ensure that auctions are designed to ensure that:

(a) operators, and in particular any small and medium-sized enterprises covered by the EU ETS, have full, fair and equitable access;

(b) all participants have access to the same information at the same time and that participants do not undermine the operation of the auctions;

(c) the organisation of, and participation in, the auctions is cost-efficient and undue administrative costs are avoided; and (d) access to allowances is granted to small emitters. Member States shall report on the proper implementation of the auctioning rules for each auction, in particular with respect to fair and open access, transparency, price formation and technical and operational aspects. These reports shall be submitted within one month of the auction concerned and shall be published on the Commission's website.

5. The Commission shall monitor the functioning of the European carbon market. Each year, it shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the functioning of the carbon market and on other relevant climate and energy policies, including the operation of the auctions, liquidity and the volumes traded, and summarising the information provided by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in accordance with paragraph 6 of this Article and the information provided by Member States on the financial measures referred to in Article 10a(6). If necessary, Member States shall ensure that any relevant information is submitted to the Commission at least two months before the Commission adopts the report.

6. ESMA shall regularly monitor the integrity and transparency of the European carbon market, in particular with regard to market volatility and price evolution, the operation of the auctions, trading operations on the market for emission allowances and derivatives thereof, including over-the-counter trading, liquidity and the volumes traded, and the categories and trading behaviour of market participants, including positions of financial intermediaries. ESMA shall include the relevant findings and, where necessary, make recommendations in its assessments to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the Commission and to the European Systemic Risk Board in accordance with Article 32(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council (). For the purposes of the tasks referred to in the first sentence of this paragraph, ESMA and the relevant competent authorities shall cooperate and exchange detailed information on all types of transactions in accordance with Article 25 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ().