Dóra Fazekas Carbon Market Implications for new EU - UniCredit ...

parties (1) view the system as “regulation,” as additional administrative burdens and as something
to comply with (and it is likely that several Hungarian companies never moved past this first stage
during the pilot phase); then, (2) they see the system as a framework, which requires a whole new
way of thinking. It will therefore take time for them to recognize that the emission of pollutants like
carbon dioxide cannot simply be left out of production processes, and that CO2 is not a substance
that a filter can be used to easily capture (like SO2, NOX). In the learning process related to the EU
ETS, (3) managers must come to an understanding of the system, must appoint an individual
responsible for it within the company (and this individual must be able to follow all necessary
processes, and must introduce tradable allowances into the company’s operative and strategic
processes). It is the conclusion of this study that some Hungarian companies did reach this stage
during the pilot phase, but of the companies surveyed, MOL was the single one where the system
has really become an integral part of the organization and its processes, and where emissions-
reduction targets are being met. At MOL, (4) CO2 emitting externalities are being internalized.
Figure 35. The corporate learning process of the EU ETS
Source: author’s own illustration
The author concludes that the three years of the pilot phase were intended as a timeframe for this
learning process to play out; in many cases, these three years were sufficient, but further major
shifts in attitudes will still be required before the system is fully internalized in Hungary.
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