The study was conducted using a large dataset covering daily trading data from April 25, 2005, to December 30, 2022, encompassing all phases of the EU-ETS. The key methodological steps and findings include:
- Causality and Dependency Analysis: Using DAG models, the study identified that energy, metal, and financial markets exert a significant influence on the EU carbon market. Specifically, oil and copper prices show the highest dependency on EUA prices.
- Spillover Effects: TVP-VAR-SV models revealed that carbon markets are net receivers of shocks from energy, metal, and financial markets, with spillover effects lasting between 2 to 15 days.
- Time-Variation in Market Relationships: The strength of these relationships varies across different market phases, with higher volatility observed during economic crises (e.g. the Global Financial Crisis, COVID-19, and the Russia-Ukraine war).
- Robustness Checks: Alternative econometric techniques, including FCI and FGES algorithms, were used to validate the findings. The results consistently demonstrated that carbon price dynamics are heavily influenced by external market factors.