INCENTIVIZE at SETAC Europe 2026

At the SETAC Europe 36th Annual Meeting in Maastricht, the Mistra-funded research project INCENTIVIZE organised a poster corner session on “Cap-and-Trade Systems for Hazardous Chemicals: Defining Caps, Allocation Weights, and Implementation Pathways.” For further information about the session, see the SETAC session page.

The session explored whether market-based instruments, such as transferable quotas, fees and cap-and-trade systems could complement existing chemicals regulation and strengthen incentives for substitution of hazardous substances.

The session brought together researchers, consultants and policy experts working at the interface of chemical risk assessment, environmental economics and regulatory design. Seven posters addressed key aspects of the topic:

• A Proposal for an EU Cap-and-Trade System for Hazardous Chemicals — Matti Vainio and Daniel Slunge
   
• Cap-and-Trade for Hazardous Chemicals: Lessons from the EU F-gas Regulation and the US AIM Act — Daniel Slunge and Matti Vainio
   
• Regulating Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in the EU: A Review of the Quota System — Sylvie Ludig, Wolfram Jörß and Victoria Brebeck
   
• Review of Assessment Rationales in Weighting Approaches for Chemicals (to Develop Economic Incentives that Efficiently Reduce Hazardous Emissions) — Anna Lunde Hermansson, Mikael Gustavsson and Thomas Backhaus
   
• Using Relative Risk Indicators to Inform Allocation Weights in Chemical Cap-and-Trade Systems — Thea Sletten, Dave Spurgeon, Sarah Roberts and Ece Özdemiroglu
   
• Creating Market Incentives for Safer Chemical Innovation — Elke Van Asbroeck
   
• Opportunities and Challenges of a Cap-and-Trade System for Plastics — Hadeel Al-Zawaidah, Marlene Kammerer, Denise M. Mitrano and Kryss Waldschläger

A central theme was that cap-and-trade systems cannot simply be transferred from climate policy to chemicals regulation. Hazardous substances differ in hazard profiles, exposure pathways, persistence, uses and data availability. This creates challenges for defining caps, grouping substances, developing allocation weights and ensuring that market-based instruments complement, rather than replace, targeted restrictions and other risk-management measures.

The discussions will inform the continued development of INCENTIVIZE, which aims to generate science-based and policy-relevant advice on how transferable quotas, fees and taxes could contribute to a less toxic circular economy.