Closing the loopholes in the EU’s centerpiece climate law

This piece was first published on Euractiv on 9 October 2017 EU member states can enable the upscaling of good examples of local climate action by closing loopholes in the Effort Sharing Regulation, a centerpiece of the EU’s climate policy, write Claire Roumet and Femke de Jong. This week, the EU environment ministers will adopt …

A fair EU carbon market: but for whom?

This article was first published on Euractiv on 27 June 2017 Amid calls from heavy industry to get more free pollution permits in the name of a ‘fair’ EU carbon market, Europe’s workers, taxpayers, and the climate must not be forgotten in the system’s design reform, writes Femke de Jong. Today, the representatives of EU …

Who is still pursuing the Paris climate goals in Europe?

This article was first published on Euractiv on 29 May 2017 As the negotiations on Europe’s key climate policies draw to an end, it is time to take stock and ask if Europe, a self-proclaimed climate leader, is really delivering on its international commitments, writes Femke De Jong. Two months ago we released a ranking showing Sweden, …

The cost of climate inaction in the agricultural sector

This week key policymakers of the European Parliament discuss the EU’s largest climate instrument. Ahead of the debate, five organizations expose how a loophole in the law could significantly increase the costs of post-2030 climate efforts by delaying the required emission reductions in the agriculture sector. The Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) covers around 60% of …

EU’s highest court rebuffs industry claim for more pollution freebies

Earlier this month, the EU Court of Justice ruled against a case by eight Swedish heavy industry operators that were asking for more free pollution permits under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) than they currently get. The EU ETS -meant to cut pollution- has so far provided industry a €24 billion pollution payout, a bill that taxpayers are picking up as governments forego scarce public money.

Sweden and France – the new European climate leaders?

After the UK referendum on the EU, some people have started to voice concerns that a “Brexit” would leave a vacuum in the EU climate policy as the UK is generally perceived as a climate leader. Fortunately, certain other countries, including France and Sweden, have recently stepped up their efforts to increase the EU’s climate …

Debunking steel myths on the EU’s carbon market

In the past few months, carbon intensive industries have ratcheted up their efforts to convince policymakers that ‘real’ data should be used to assess how many free pollution permits to give out under the EU’s carbon market rules. Carbon Market Watch also values the use of accurate, up-to-date information in the debate on the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) reform. We therefore checked two recent claims by the industry.

Triple shock: Draft report would keep Europe’s carbon market in dysfunctional state

This week, the rapporteur of the European Parliament’s Environment committee (Ian Duncan) published his draft report on the EU’s carbon market reform, kicking off the legislative debate. Disappointingly, the proposal fails to address the most pressing issues that need fixing in order to make the EU ETS fit-for-purpose and in line with the Paris climate agreement.