From September 2026 to August 2027, 190 million emission allowances will be removed from the EU carbon market. They will be transferred to the Market Stability Reserve (MSR).
This is indicated by the Total Number of Allowances in Circulation (TNAC) figure, which was published by the European Commission. In 2025, it stood at 1,023,494,202 allowances.
The TNAC effectively determines the surplus of allowances in carbon auctions. Based on its level, the EU makes decisions on market balancing—removing allowances from trading to the Reserve or, conversely, releasing them from the MSR for sale.
Therefore, over a 12-month period—from September 1, 2026, to August 31, 2027—190,494,202 allowances will be transferred to the Reserve. Auction calendars reflecting the reduction in their volumes are expected to be adopted in July of this year.
The European Commission also noted that as of January 1, 2026, there were 400 million allowances in the MSR. Surplus allowances are no longer valid.
EcoPolitic previously reported that the European Commission had proposed to abolish the mechanism for canceling "excess" allowances in the Market Stability Reserve. This was intended to be part of measures that could stabilize carbon market emission prices. Until this amendment enters into force, the number of reserved and excess allowances will continue to be calculated under the current mechanism.
Recently, the EU also published new benchmarks for the Emissions Trading System. These values make it possible to determine the volume of free allowances. The proposed guidelines will help cover up to 75% of emissions with such allowances.
