October editorial: COP26 and the rise of the climate inactivists

We fight the climate wars no longer only against denialists but also against what climate scientist Michael Mann calls “inactivists”, writes Sabine Frank.  I don’t know at which UN climate conference this trend began, but at COP15 in Copenhagen, the shift was certainly not yet apparent. The recent BBC ‘conspiracy thriller’ The Trick is a  …

September editorial: Seeking common ground on the climate crisis

The European Emissions Trading System covers almost half of Europe’s climate problem, but it occupies only a fraction of the public mind. We’ve teamed up with a dozen other NGOs in Europe for the Emissions Trading eXtra (ETX) project to shine a floodlight on the ETS and its future, as well as to tilt up …

The lengthened and stony road to Glasgow

A reminder of the tricky issues of agreement on global carbon market rules in the context of ratcheting up climate ambition Raising ambition is the primordial task for governments ahead of and at the next UN climate conference. But it will also be essential to finally agree on the rules that will govern global carbon …

The EU Emission Trading System – carbon pricing as an important tool to achieve the objectives of the Green Deal

First published in ECA Journal 02/2020: Climate Change and Audit By Sabine Frank, Executive Director, Carbon Market Watch In a world that is increasingly feeling the consequences of climate change, the idea of polluters paying for their pollution makes more and more sense. The EU’s Emission Trading System (ETS) reflects exactly that thought and is …

Wird der deutsche CO2-Preisplan der Herausforderung des Klimawandels gerecht?

… und wie sieht die Zukunft für den EU-Kohlenstoffmarkt aus? Ein Interview mit Sabine Frank Meinen Sie, dass das Klimapaket der Bundesregierung und sein CO2-Preiselement der Aufgabe gewachsen sind, den Wandel zu Klimaneutralität im Land voranzutreiben? Es ist ein Fortschritt, die Umweltverschmutzung im Verkehrs- und Wärmesektor zu verteuern. Aber der Schritt selbst ist nicht groß …

Is the German carbon pricing plan fit for purpose?

…and what does the future look like for the EU carbon market? An interview with Sabine Frank, director of Carbon Market Watch A German version here Do you think that the German government’s climate package and its carbon pricing element are up to the task to drive a clean transition in the country? Putting a …

EU countries under scrutiny for their role in opaque aviation agency 

European countries who are members of the UN civil aviation body are keeping their work on climate policies for the aviation sector secret from their citizens, in breach of an international treaty on public access to environmental information.  The Aarhus Convention covers three principles: access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making and access …