The European Union’s Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), published on Wednesday March 4, was a new step in the bloc’s efforts to decarbonize heavy industry and to support strategic supply chains in sectors such as steel, cement and aluminium.

European aluminium scrap and secondary ingot prices are on the rise, driven by a significant shortage of scrap. Trade sources indicate that low generation has constrained domestic supply, and this is happening even before the expected EU scrap export restrictions in Spring 2026.

The EU ETS reform, including the phase-out of free allocations, is set to significantly increase emissions costs for EU industrial producers, with effective EUA prices rising sharply by 2035, driving substantial cost pressures and price increases across key sectors like steel, aluminium, and downstream industries such as automotive and construction.

Russian aluminium producer Rusal is making a calculated entry into the East African market, going into partnership with Ethiopia’s sovereign wealth fund to build an aluminium smelter with capacity for 500,000 tonnes per year

China will expand its national emissions trading system (ETS) to new sectors and introduce absolute carbon caps under an updated climate plan submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Monday November 3.

The European Commission has confirmed that CBAM indirect emissions will not be included for metals products under the upcoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), while pre-consumer scrap is set to become a standalone CBAM product, EU Commission representative Martin Becker said during the European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition (ERCST) webinar on Thursday October 30.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) has approved its first methodology under Article 6.4, also known as the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), the UNFCC announced on Thursday October 30.

Europe is facing a potential green aluminium deficit as production halts in Iceland and Mozambique threaten regional supply. Market analysts warn that the resulting shortage of low-carbon aluminium could reshape trade flows and drive higher premiums through 2026.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) has set out its plan to launch low-carbon base metals price premiums for nickel, aluminium, zinc and copper in a white paper published on Monday October 13.

Global aluminium producer Alcoa has already diverted 100,000 tonnes of Canadian metal away from the US market in response to uncertainty about import tariffs with trade measures continuing to upend traditional trade flows and pushing the company to rethink its global supply strategy, its chief executive officer said.